That's a correct definition of TURBO. As you mentioned
they weigh less because of not having a starter and
the large battery system but also because they use
smaller direct drive engines thereby eliminating the
reduction drive.

At 11:24 31 May 2004, Doug Hoffman wrote:
Someone please correct me if I've got this wrong.
I thought the term
'Turbo' as it applies to gliders means that the sustainer
engine can be
started simply by using the propeller(s): i.e., the
forward movement of the
glider thru the air will cause the propeller(s) to
act as a 'turbine' to
start the engine(hence the term turbo). Weight savings
are realized due to
lack of electric starter (and battery?).

Regards,

-Doug


Bruce Hoult wrote:

In article ,
'BTIZ' wrote:

'Paul' wrote in message
...
Looks like DG have succumbed to market forces by annoucing
they
will produce a 'Turbo' version of the 808. See
http://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/dg-808st-e.html Also
has the 600kg all
up weight. Nice.

the standard engines get a little anemic out here
in the western high
desert.. (US)

Uhhh ... that would appear to be a non sequitur.
A 'turbo' is a power
improvement over a standard glider ... it's a big
step down in power
(and price) from a standard engine.

-- Bruce