Best Overall Motorglider available today?

Obviously it wasn't trivial, but look at what they did with the '25.
Sold as a straight glider, a sustainer with a Solo engine, and a
self-launch with a carbureted Wankel, an injected Wankel, and a twin
jet. So much re-engineering went into that ship, but not the '26.




On 10/3/20 9:59 AM, jfitch wrote:
Dave, there was no good reason to do it. The E engine was running fine, had 45 hours on it, and it still running today in another glider. A number of 26E owners over the years have expressed interest in this conversion. We had the engine and were curious about AS claim that this was not a trivial endeavor. Also, I was going to need to replace the Technoflug prop at some point, and the Mi engine already had that prop. It turned into a bit more work than we (Rex and I) had imagined - perhaps AS was right - but the result is a nice upgrade. The alternative way to get an Mi engine is to spend the $1/4M dollar bill for a 31.

On Friday, October 2, 2020 at 5:41:57 PM UTC-7, wrote:
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 don't believe the '25 was ever sold as a twin jet, but there was one converted by the owner. (in Australia, I believe)

On Sunday, October 4, 2020 at 10:01:09 PM UTC+2, wrote:
I don't believe the '25 was ever sold as a twin jet, but there was one converted by the owner. (in Australia, I believe)
Which subsequently ended in tragedy

https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications...r/ao-2018-009/

On 10/4/20 4:01 PM, Matthew Scutter wrote:
On Sunday, October 4, 2020 at 10:01:09 PM UTC+2, wrote:
I don't believe the '25 was ever sold as a twin jet, but there was one converted by the owner. (in Australia, I believe)
Which subsequently ended in tragedy

https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications...r/ao-2018-009/


Wikipedia showed an AH-25J, but yeah that was likely the 25M conversion.

They also do list a self-launch with a bigger Solo engine, which would
make sense since the wankel has always been marginal for the larger
ships, particularly at higher altitude airports. Anyway you cut it, a
lot of engines for one ship.

-Dave

On Monday, 5 October 2020 at 17:48:52 UTC+1, kinsell wrote:
On 10/4/20 4:01 PM, Matthew Scutter wrote:
On Sunday, October 4, 2020 at 10:01:09 PM UTC+2, wrote:
I don't believe the '25 was ever sold as a twin jet, but there was one converted by the owner. (in Australia, I believe)
Which subsequently ended in tragedy

https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications...r/ao-2018-009/


Wikipedia showed an AH-25J, but yeah that was likely the 25M conversion.

They also do list a self-launch with a bigger Solo engine, which would
make sense since the wankel has always been marginal for the larger
ships, particularly at higher altitude airports. Anyway you cut it, a
lot of engines for one ship.

-Dave

The Solo engined version is the AS25/EB28 which is really a Binder EB model leading on to their EB28 then EB28 Edition models.

On 10/5/20 12:05 PM, John Galloway wrote:
On Monday, 5 October 2020 at 17:48:52 UTC+1, kinsell wrote:
On 10/4/20 4:01 PM, Matthew Scutter wrote:
On Sunday, October 4, 2020 at 10:01:09 PM UTC+2, wrote:
I don't believe the '25 was ever sold as a twin jet, but there was one converted by the owner. (in Australia, I believe)
Which subsequently ended in tragedy

https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications...r/ao-2018-009/


Wikipedia showed an AH-25J, but yeah that was likely the 25M conversion.

They also do list a self-launch with a bigger Solo engine, which would
make sense since the wankel has always been marginal for the larger
ships, particularly at higher altitude airports. Anyway you cut it, a
lot of engines for one ship.

-Dave

The Solo engined version is the AS25/EB28 which is really a Binder EB model leading on to their EB28 then EB28 Edition models.


Pardon the continued drift, but Garret Willat once posted a humorous
"Woe is Me" type video about flying an ASH25/Eb28 in a world's
competition, their lithium batteries went out and left them without
motor capability and no power on the panel.

Not having an adequate backup navigation system, they were flying around
in a foreign country, using a paper tourist map for guidance, and
avoiding rain showers. I think this was only on FaceBook, never saw it
elsewhere.

Drifting back closer to the original topic of the thread, I personally
haven't lost a bit a sleep over how much Jon spent on his conversion,
but want to point out that buying a used 26E and dropping an injected
engine into it is not economically practical. Nick unfortunately didn't
provide guidance on how much he was willing to spend on a glider, so
it's not clear if a used '31Mi is in the running. Shorter trailer,
18/21 meter wing configuration, better weight capability are other
advantages, but they ain't cheap.

Asking "what's the best motorglider" is a bit like asking "what's the
best book to read".

-Dave

The 26 was re-engineered into the 31. The fuselage is the same, the Mi motor drops in and bolts up to the 26 fuselage without any structural or mechanical changes at all. Only the wiring and fuel system has to be upgraded to match the induction system. To fit an engine into the originally engineless 25 was, I'm sure, a much larger job. I don't think converting an engineless 25 into a 25Mi is practical, without purchasing a new fuselage. I believe it has been tried on a 22, the cost is prohibitive.

On Sunday, October 4, 2020 at 8:39:22 AM UTC-7, kinsell wrote:
Obviously it wasn't trivial, but look at what they did with the '25.
Sold as a straight glider, a sustainer with a Solo engine, and a
self-launch with a carbureted Wankel, an injected Wankel, and a twin
jet. So much re-engineering went into that ship, but not the '26.
On 10/3/20 9:59 AM, jfitch wrote:
Dave, there was no good reason to do it. The E engine was running fine, had 45 hours on it, and it still running today in another glider. A number of 26E owners over the years have expressed interest in this conversion. We had the engine and were curious about AS claim that this was not a trivial endeavor. Also, I was going to need to replace the Technoflug prop at some point, and the Mi engine already had that prop. It turned into a bit more work than we (Rex and I) had imagined - perhaps AS was right - but the result is a nice upgrade. The alternative way to get an Mi engine is to spend the $1/4M dollar bill for a 31.

On Friday, October 2, 2020 at 5:41:57 PM UTC-7, wrote:
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