On Friday, May 3, 2013 9:25:52 AM UTC-7, Bob Kuykendall wrote:
I agree with Herb. I think that the future of soaring as a viable

sport will involve hybrid solutions that blur a lot of the lines that

we draw now. For example, consider a ground launch to about 1000 feet

and then powered cruise on an 18 kw electric sustainer until the first

thermal is encountered. Is that a motorglider?

But isn't the whole argument about racing/competition? I have no doubt that having a sustainer would change the way I fly XC. So would having a heavy self-launcher. The question is whether it is fair to lump these together and score the same way in a contest environment.

Personally, when I win the lottery I'm getting a jet sustainer. And If I lived somewhere with no-one to help with a ground launch, I would consider a self launcher. But I do enjoy the simplicity of not having any motor. It's all part of the wonderful spectrum of soaring!

Kirk
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