Why are so many Stemme S10-VT motorgliders for sale?

On Sun, 28 Oct 2007 04:23:25 -0000, VARR wrote:


Are these people already upgrading to the Antares? ;-) I'm not
trolling, but rather am looking for actual information and opinions on
the S10-VT motorglider.

I have been granted the right to use a Stemme for 2years, tgether with
4 other friends. I must say I was lucky to get this opportunity.

I've had some good flights, including a trip from Italy to Morocco and
back.
It was an S10-v (not "T"). Excellent performance in cruise, not ideal
takeoff perfo. But I must say, with 2 people and full tanks, I was way
beyond MTOW.
Good for taking friends in the air, excellent for soaring safaris,
quite good for serious XC, especially if the center of gravity had
been optimised (if setup for a 70kg solo, than it's quite awkward in
thermals with 200kg in the cockpit...)

I never lost a day due to technical malfunctions.
TE probe never worked well.
Manoevrabily with positive flaps is less than satisfactory: better
revert to zero, manoever, than +flaps again.

Maintenance costs are quite high, due to low propeller TBO almost
doubling engine costs. I was told that later the TBO had been
extended, thus reducing propeller costs by some 30%

Tough for landing in a crosswind. Things get easier on a long runway.
The long legs of the undercarriage are much tougher than they look.
But you do need a smooth surface.

Beware of small holes, ditches etc when taxiing on grass: it's quite
easy to damage the propeller on a ground impact.

The VT has much better takeoff performance.

I regret having lost the opportunity to fly it: the owner has finally
sold it.

Aldo Cernezzi
dg600M