jfitch wrote on 9/28/2020 10:19 AM:
At least individual examples do exist. I've owned mine for 20 years, in that time I have had exactly 1 failure to start (first start after the winter layup, fouled plugs), and no inflight failures at all. Other than scheduled maintenance per the manual, the list of repairs in 20 years has been:

* replaced exhaust muffler per A/D
* replaced water pump due to progressively worsening seal
* preemptively replaced belt idler bearings which were judged to be noisy
* replaced coil #1, internally intermittent

I've rarely owned a car that had fewer repairs. I'm not going to argue that this glider is as reliable as a modern car, but with vigilant maintenance, reliability has not been bad relatively speaking. Perhaps I have been lucky, but I know other owners who are equally lucky. I own two boats, each of which has required more unscheduled maintenance than has the glider. Boats and gliders are both made in prototype quantities, an expectation of reliability equal to an automobile (made in millions) is naive. But of course, even in an automobile, good factory support is desirable.

On Monday, September 28, 2020 at 9:30:07 AM UTC-7, Dave Walsh wrote:
I agree totally: what you might well discover is that the reliable motor
glider does not yet exist. Given this, good factory support is very
desirable.

My experience with my ASH 26E parallels Jon's: over 26 years, 4000+ hours, 200
engine hours, except for these engine related issues...

-I've had one failure to start in-flight; probably my fault as it started
immediately on the ground shortly after landing
-replaced the propeller drive belt after 20 years "just because"
-the air spring on the mast was replaced once
-oil sensor leaked, replaced
-I have not replaced a coil, but I did replace the flywheel per an AD the second
year or so.
-I've only lost two or three soaring days due to propulsion system issues, as most
maintenance could be deferred to non-soaring periods (like winter)

I flew towed gliders for about 3000 hours, and lost many days due to towplane
issues: no pilot or towplane down for various mechanical problems. I can take my
26E to almost any airport, where I can expect to launch and then return 5-6 hours
later, even the weather doesn't cooperate. That's my idea of a reliable glider!
Try that with a towed glider, and your "reliability" will be much worse.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1