On Thursday, September 24, 2020 at 6:00:01 AM UTC-7, Eric Greenwell wrote:
Dave Walsh wrote on 9/24/2020 5:11 AM:
You won't need tow planes or winches when everyone has an electric self
launch: everyone just has to get a lot richer.
It's not a problem, our politicians have it all under control, look at how

well we Europeans are doing with Brexit & Covid.....
And, yes, it's raining.

There is an alternative to getting a lot richer: clubs and partnerships. With just
two people in a partnership, your purchase cost is one half, and you no longer
have to support a tow plane or pay tow fees. If you can fly near your home, you
can avoid travel and motel costs, too. The partners can fly whenever their
schedule and the weather permit, and even take advantage of marginal soaring
conditions without the inconvenience or expense of a retrieve, so the utilization
of the glider is higher than a towed glider.

So, instead of "a lot richer", you only have to be "modestly richer", and with
three owners of a glider, maybe not even richer at all, especially as the used
market for FES gliders increases in the next few years. A club might find an FES
glider a good value, particularly if they want to encourage cross-country soaring.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1

That strategy has been in use since the Wright Brothers started selling aircraft, so it is not going to change anything. If an electric towplane can only make 2 launches per day you will need more towplanes and the much higher cost would have to be passed on to the same number of club members.

Tom