Motorgliders (long)

In article ,
says...
in article , Eric Greenwell at
wrote on 2003/09/28 17:54:

Sure, having a motor is a great training tool. But once you've learned
enough that you think you are competitive as a _glider_, not a powered ship,
then enter competitions for _gliders_ and leave the training wheels at home.

And then there is Ron Tabery, who flew his ASW 22 BLE, with the engine,
in the Open Class nationals this year. Even though he is a five time
member of the US Team, including the 2003 team, we look forward to the
day he learns how to do it, and discards his "training wheels".

And your point is what?

That even really experienced and competent pilots fly motorgliders in
contests. I was hoping the original poster would reconsider his concept
that a motor was equivalent to "training wheels".

Why put motor Gliders up against real Gliders in competition?

Because motor gliders are real gliders, at least according to the SSA,
the FAA, and the IGC. For example, my ASH 26 E meets the requirements of
the Sports class, the 18 Meter class, and the Open class.

Do we really
need yet another layer of rules just to make that possible?

The "layer" is already in the rules. In total, the portions related to
motorized sailplanes (the term used in the rules) is about one page of
the 44 making up the Regional rules. I assume it is about the same for
the Sports Class and the National rules, but haven't measured it. About
1/3 of this amount basically says "disable it, seal it, or use a flight
recorder with engine monitoring". The rest are mostly one line
parenthetical additions scattered throughout the rules. Take a look at
the rules - the motorized sailplane parts aren't the confusing or
difficult parts, and you can ignore them if you are flying a motorless
glider.

I hear that motor gliders are all the rage these days, so why not organize
Motor Glider only events and avoid adding to the complication?

The Auxiliary-powered Sailplane Association (www.motorglider.org) does
hold a motorglider Nationals every year, but for many pilots, it isn't
convenient to attend it, not everyone likes the handicapped format, many
of us enjoy racing with the friends we flew with before we owned a
motorglider, and doesn't it lead to a place on the US Team (like Ron
Tabery wants). There aren't enough motorglider pilots interested in
contests to justify having a separate contest in each region.
Motorgliders have been included in US competitions for many years, so it
appears the "complication" is quite manageable.


No wonder soaring is not attracting and holding the number of participants
that it should.

I am baffled by this statement. How does having motorized sailplanes
flying in our contests _reduce_ the number of participants?

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Eric Greenwell USA