Best Overall Motorglider available today?

On Friday, October 2, 2020 at 12:46:57 PM UTC-4, jfitch wrote:
While the Mi engine is better, the E engine is certainly adequate

Thanks Jfitch for showing us your beautiful 26mi at the convention.
Can you remind us why you decided to do the conversion from original engine?

Thanks,
Best Regards, Dave

I flew an ASH26e for 2 seasons and now have a V3M which matches its advertised climb rate of 630fpm with its 62hp fuel injected Solo engine taking off from 360ft msl. The 26e with the carb engine got around 500pm so I surprised me to hear the the 26Mi, with a lower power engine than my V3M, will manage 800fpm from sea level. 800fpm seems an extraordinary increase.

The 26e is a lovely glider and the engine is, of course, much quieter smoother than 2 cylinder 2-strokes but the rotary engine is too vulnerable to catastrophic internal damage if anything goes wrong with the marginal at the best of times rotor air cooling and the internal oil misting. The saying about self launching glider IC engines is - "with the Solo you will probably get lots of relatively small problems, with the rotary you'll get fewer problems but when you do it could be a very big one". There are certainly a few replaced rotaries in gliders that I know of and that is a big bill. I had the fan belt fall off and the engine rotor air rapidly overheat but got away with it.

Is there a rec.aviation.mortorglider for all these boys that don't fly
sailplanes???

Paul T wrote on 10/3/2020 12:56 AM:
Is there a rec.aviation.mortorglider for all these boys that don't fly
sailplanes???

You are asking about what we call "touring motorgliders". The best place to start
is the Touring Motorglider Association forums:

https://www.motorgliders.org

--
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

Touring motorgliders seem to be simply airplanes with longer wings.

On 10/3/2020 7:07 AM, Eric Greenwell wrote:
Paul T wrote on 10/3/2020 12:56 AM:
Is there a rec.aviation.mortorglider for all these boys that don't fly
sailplanes???

You are asking about what we call "touring motorgliders". The best
place to start is the Touring Motorglider Association forums:

https://www.motorgliders.org


--
Dan, 5J

On 10/3/20 7:07 AM, Eric Greenwell wrote:
Paul T wrote on 10/3/2020 12:56 AM:
Is there a rec.aviation.mortorglider for all these boys that don't fly
sailplanes???

You are asking about what we call "touring motorgliders". The best place
to start is the Touring Motorglider Association forums:

https://www.motorgliders.org


I believe he was saying that motorgliders aren't really sailplanes and
would like discussions on such to move elsewhere.

Maybe if he doesn't want to read about motorgliders, he could avoid
clicking on threads mentioning motorgliders?

At 17:01 03 October 2020, kinsell wrote:
On 10/3/20 7:07 AM, Eric Greenwell wrote:
Paul T wrote on 10/3/2020 12:56 AM:
Is there a rec.aviation.mortorglider for all these boys that don't fly
sailplanes???

You are asking about what we call "touring motorgliders". The best
place
to start is the Touring Motorglider Association forums:

https://www.motorgliders.org


I believe he was saying that motorgliders aren't really sailplanes and
would like discussions on such to move elsewhere.

Maybe if he doesn't want to read about motorgliders, he could avoid
clicking on threads mentioning motorgliders?


Such a cynic - but no, anything with an engine in it is not a sailplane -
its a
different game - maybe better, maybe worse, but definitely different - but

personally I'd have a JS2/5 if I win the lottery.

Paul T wrote on 10/3/2020 2:43 PM:
At 17:01 03 October 2020, kinsell wrote:
On 10/3/20 7:07 AM, Eric Greenwell wrote:
Paul T wrote on 10/3/2020 12:56 AM:
Is there a rec.aviation.mortorglider for all these boys that don't fly
sailplanes???

You are asking about what we call "touring motorgliders". The best
place
to start is the Touring Motorglider Association forums:

https://www.motorgliders.org


I believe he was saying that motorgliders aren't really sailplanes and
would like discussions on such to move elsewhere.

Maybe if he doesn't want to read about motorgliders, he could avoid
clicking on threads mentioning motorgliders?


Such a cynic - but no, anything with an engine in it is not a sailplane -
its a
different game - maybe better, maybe worse, but definitely different - but

personally I'd have a JS2/5 if I win the lottery.

Equipment does change the game: 1-26 vs Nimbus 4 is a different game.

The area also changes the game: Appalachian ridges vs Argentina wave is a
different game.

The launch availability changes the game: Daily access to a tow vs weekend only is
a different game.

Retrieve ease changes the game: a very dedicated (or paid) crew vs the unassisted
pilot is a different game.

My point: The common factor is we are all flying sailplanes, and there are many
factors affecting the "game". To argue a Nimbus 4 is a sailplane and a Nimbus 4M
isn't ignores what happens between the start and finish of the soaring.

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

I thought the same thing...............before checking width between shoulders on JS2!

Paul T wrote on 10/3/2020 12:56 AM:
....................
personally I'd have a JS2/5 if I win the lottery.

I have written an application that will analyze an IGC file (or many IGC files at once) to calculate time to climb and climb rate. I dumped 20 years worth of my IGC files into it. The climb rate at sea level with the E engine was a bit over 600 if memory serves, and a bit over 800 with the Mi (I do not fly often at sea level). About the same percentage increase at high altitude. If you want to send me some IGC files, I can throw them into the same app.

There have been a couple of instances of fan belt failures on the rotary, a few of us have installed warning indicators for this possibility.

On Saturday, October 3, 2020 at 12:30:55 AM UTC-7, wrote:
I flew an ASH26e for 2 seasons and now have a V3M which matches its advertised climb rate of 630fpm with its 62hp fuel injected Solo engine taking off from 360ft msl. The 26e with the carb engine got around 500pm so I surprised me to hear the the 26Mi, with a lower power engine than my V3M, will manage 800fpm from sea level. 800fpm seems an extraordinary increase.

The 26e is a lovely glider and the engine is, of course, much quieter smoother than 2 cylinder 2-strokes but the rotary engine is too vulnerable to catastrophic internal damage if anything goes wrong with the marginal at the best of times rotor air cooling and the internal oil misting. The saying about self launching glider IC engines is - "with the Solo you will probably get lots of relatively small problems, with the rotary you'll get fewer problems but when you do it could be a very big one". There are certainly a few replaced rotaries in gliders that I know of and that is a big bill. I had the fan belt fall off and the engine rotor air rapidly overheat but got away with it.