Motorgliders and gliders in US contests

"M B" wrote in message
...
.............. But is it OK for a motorglider pilot
to remove the engine and fly the whole contest without
it installed? Has anyone ever done this, or are there
weight and balance issues, as well as airworthiness
problems? ..............
How much of a hassle is it to remove or reinstall
an engine? Has anyone out there removed an engine
from a motorglider and then flown it?

Most motorgliders are certified with the engine installed. Flying without
the engine would be outside of certification.
15 - 20 years ago when I was writing the rules and there was much discussion
as to whether motorgliders should be allowed to enter FAI class contests,
Weibel told me that he was designing a motorglider (the ASH-26) that would
be certified both with and without the engine. He also said that
removal/installation of the engine would be simple (his words). This was
contemplated to end the problem. Since it has been in production I have not
heard of anyone doing engine removal for contest entry. Also other
manufactures did not seem to follow his idea of dual certification. Contest
rules have been slowly liberalized to permit entry by motorgliders. Now
removal of the engine is no longer needed, but could be done for only one
motorglider that I know of..

Duane