"jeplane" wrote in message
...
Motorgliders are definitely fun, and I've had some good flights in
them, but the Grob is a different animal as it is getting old, and
maintaining them are going to be challenging...

Perhaps 15 years ago, we had a G109 at our local field. I was lucky enough
to use it for the first few hours of my glider flight training. On the surface,
a motorglider seems like a wonderful idea. It is a glider (sort of) and as a
power plane it cruises faster than a 152 on much less gas. The reality was not
so great.

In the year that I knew it, the engine was off several times, twice for major
work (they are notorious for burned valves) and at least once to simply replace
the generator belt (yes, you have to remove the engine to do that). It once
suffered a prop strike in a bad landing and sat for over three months waiting on
prop parts from Germany.

It barely had enough power to taxi on grass. The technique to start it
rolling was to apply full throttle and then fan the rudder to sort of jar the
thing into motion. A push from a bystander was a much better option if
available. Once in motion, it was OK.

All-in-all, my impression was it might still be an OK plane for a careful,
mechanically-inclined owner, but you must go into the deal understanding its
limitations.


--
Vaughn

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