On Tuesday, September 22, 2020 at 3:18:06 PM UTC-7, Ramy wrote:
I consider FES as primarily a sustainer with a bonus self launch capability. You don’t get both in the same flight. The self launch is primarily for the occasional situation you can’t otherwise get a tow (mid week, tow plane down, tow pilot unavailable etc]. The self launch may get you in the air when you otherwise can’t, but probably wouldn’t be sufficient for a relight at the end of the day.

Ramy

The guy with a MiniLAK FES at Ely, NV this year took tows. On his first flight, he got stuck 60 miles out. He knew that the energy in the battery did not permit climbing to an altitude to clear the mountain ranges between him and the airport, and cruise the 60 mi back to Ely, so he used his battery capacity to, wisely, search for a landable area (which can be hard to find in this area of NV). He landed out successfully and was retrieved by ground.. This is yet another story. Personally, I would not fly any electric glider out of Ely.

Tom