Dave Nadler wrote, On 4/17/2014 3:08 AM:
On Wednesday, April 16, 2014 10:48:39 PM UTC-4, Eric Greenwell wrote:
It's a decent presentation, but I do think "plummet mode" grossly
exaggerates the situation: my ASH 26 E does not have a "plummet mode",

As was discussed in the talk, had you bothered to attend...


nor do similar gliders like the DG 800, Ventus self-launchers, etc.

Wrong...


... I'd reserve the
term "plummet mode" to sustainers that require diving to start the engine.

If you had flown some of the planes I have, you would
have a rather different opinion.


You are losing the plot. The sink rate of many of these
planes with motor out and not running is much, much,
higher than what glider pilots are used to. Not planning
for this has led to many, many accidents...

Perhaps there is some confusion over "much, much". I'm talking about no
more than twice the sink rate of best L/D - how much are you thinking?

How about the ASH 26 E? Do you now agree it does not have a "plummet
mode"? I do not experience What I think is a high sink rate when the
mast is up.

The ASH 26 E, DG and Ventus models I'm talking about are not the "engine
on a stick" variety, but the newer (last 20 years or so) types with the
"buried" engine. There is a significant difference between, for example,
the old 15 meter PIK 20 E with it's "engine on a stick", and the newer
18 meter ASH 26 E, DG 800, etc, with their "buried engine".

Regardless of the sink rate, it is important for pilots of any glider to
practice landings with the propeller extended, so they are aware of the
gliders performance in that condition, and know how to handle the
situation when the engine does not start. There should never be a case
of "not used to it".

--
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
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Feb/2010" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm
http://tinyurl.com/yb3xywl