On Wed, 16 Nov 2005 02:47:13 +0100, G Farris > wrote in
>::

>For my part, I can appreciate the sensual thrill of being high
>and riding the wind without the nuisance of a noisy motor, but it just
>doesn't do it for me unless you're going somewhere. Gliders just fly and go
>nowhere.

Soaring is more of a sport than a means of transportation. However,
you might find a motorglider the best of both worlds:

http://www.stemmewest.com/

The Stemme S10-VT is the World's Best Motorglider

No other powered sailplane design has combined the high
performance of a sailplane with the practicality and convenience
of a power plane. As a result, soaring was finally freed from
local airfields and the requirement for ground handling support,
creating a new class of gliders. Starting from convenient local
airfields in the morning, owners fly under power to optimal
soaring conditions anywhere within several hundred miles, soar all
day, and still have time to return home the same day. The STEMME
propulsion design makes high performance cross country soaring a
convenient form of recreational, competition, record-setting
flights, and just plane fun.


Stemme manufacturer's web site:
http://www.stemme.de/daten/e/index.html

The flights depicted in this video will provide evidence that a Stemme
motorglider is certainly capable of going somewhere:
http://www.stemme.de/daten/e/produkte/s10/video.htm

G Farris > wrote:
>Gliders just fly and go nowhere.

You haven't done much research on gliders/soaring, have you? And it
doesn't have to be a motor glider to go somewhere! You need a way to
launch, Mother Nature needs to be cooperating in at least some small
way, and the pilot needs to know how to use what resources are available
up there. It might be more accurate to say that it's more *about flying*
than about going somewhere, though.

Hmm, sounds like a typical clueless motorhead.

Then again, if his only gliding experience is at a typical US
commercial operation, twirly-birding around in a 2-33, then it's
understandable!

Nothing a 500k out west in some nice glass wouldn't cure...

Kirk
Glasshole and motorhead, as required...