Registration Airplane or Motorglider

Larry Dighera wrote:

I am unable
to think of a single negative aspect to choosing to register your
Europa as a glider.

The vast majority of pilots have an airplane license and NOT
a glider license (in the USA). They will not be able to get insurance
without at least a glider solo endorsement and a self-launch
endorsement. There are at least 100 ASEL CFIs to every self-launch
capable CFIG, so finding an instructor is difficult even
if you provide the Europa for training for free prior to purchase.

So if you decide to get a partner or sell the aircraft, you will either
have a smaller pool of potential interested pilots, or will have
to convince interested parties to take glider training.

Whether this negative is overriden by other positives is something
you'll have to consider...

I wish the USA would instantly grant glider privs. to every
airplane pilot. Then the only thing stopping a pilot from
flying a glider would be the need for a launch endorsement.
I've never met an ASEL pilot who couldn't safely fly a glider
in all the other areas by the time he had learned to safely aerotow...
--

------------+
Mark J. Boyd

"Mark James Boyd" wrote in message
news:4196428a$1@darkstar...
I've never met an ASEL pilot who couldn't safely fly a glider
in all the other areas by the time he had learned to safely aerotow...

Then you are just lucky.

Vaughn

On 13 Nov 2004 09:21:14 -0700, (Mark James Boyd)
wrote:

Larry Dighera wrote:

I am unable
to think of a single negative aspect to choosing to register your
Europa as a glider.

The vast majority of pilots have an airplane license and NOT
a glider license (in the USA). They will not be able to get insurance
without at least a glider solo endorsement and a self-launch
endorsement. There are at least 100 ASEL CFIs to every self-launch
capable CFIG, so finding an instructor is difficult even
if you provide the Europa for training for free prior to purchase.

So if you decide to get a partner or sell the aircraft, you will either
have a smaller pool of potential interested pilots, or will have
to convince interested parties to take glider training.

Whether this negative is overriden by other positives is something
you'll have to consider...

I wish the USA would instantly grant glider privs. to every
airplane pilot. Then the only thing stopping a pilot from
flying a glider would be the need for a launch endorsement.
I've never met an ASEL pilot who couldn't safely fly a glider
in all the other areas by the time he had learned to safely aerotow...



I've never met an ASEL pilot who couldn't safely fly a glider
in all the other areas by the time he had learned to safely aerotow...

That is an absurd statement.

"I've never met an ASEL pilot who couldn't safely fly a glider
in all the other areas by the time he had learned to safely aerotow"

Hello - I am one. I was a power pilot first and used to make my glider
instructor sick with uncoordinated turns. My brain kept kicking the yarn
instead of pulling it. Took a number of flights before I was safe, just
because of that trick. Once that was learned, the self launch endorsement
brought out additional required skills, like how to turn an aircraft with
long wings around without hitting things on the ground, and how to get out a
pothole without sufficient power.

Transistioning from one type of aircraft to another brings unique problems,
because of all the "bad" habits that need to be unlearned and new skills
needed.

Colin N12HS





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"I've never met an ASEL pilot who couldn't safely fly a glider
in all the other (PTS) areas by the time he had learned to safely aerotow"

Except for "soaring techniques," I can't think of another area of the
PTS that isn't required in order to sign someone off for
aerotow.

5 ft rope break: MCA, stalls, and recovery, speed-to-fly,
normal and crosswind landings.

50 ft rope break (simulated): slip to a landing, off airport
landing.

200 ft rope break: steep turns with coordination, turns to a heading,
downwind landing, minimum sink speed.

So for me, by the time I sign anyone off for aerotow,
they're already safe to fly a glider in all the other (safety) areas.

Granted, not in all conditions, and not in all gliders are they safe,
but this is trivially true. I don't know any pilot who
is safe in all gliders in all conditions (although there are at
least two I can think of on this newsgroup who would argue
differently ;P).

Colin is talking about self-launch, a different launch technique,
but I'd be surprised if his instructor felt he could
safely self-launch before his coordination was good. Even in
self-launch, if the engine stops at XXX feet, isn't there a
turn back to the airport? Isn't this with a pretty good roll rate
and steep bank? Doesn't this require good coordination to ensure
safety? Wouldn't this be required before endorsing someone for
self-launch?

Does someone need to learn soaring techniques to safely fly a glider?
I didn't. Sure I learned steep turns, and we talked about
thermals, but I trained and was soloed (by a glider DPE) in calm air.
I never felt the least bit unsafe.

Are there any instructors who felt an ASEL transition pilot could
safely do all of the things for an aerotow endorsement but NOT safely
solo? This seems a little funny, since an ASEL transition pilot
with an aerotow endorsement can fly an experimental glider
solo under the current rules anyway (no cat/class required for PIC).
--

------------+
Mark J. Boyd

Mark James Boyd wrote:

"I've never met an ASEL pilot who couldn't safely fly a glider
in all the other (PTS) areas by the time he had learned to safely aerotow"
... [big snip] ...

In the sense you developped below, it is certainly true, but would be equally
true if you deleted the word "ASEL".