I fly the Carat Motorglider

Hi Gang
I had not expected to be offered the opportunity to fly the
first Carat delivered in the US. But I did today and I really
liked what I found. This is my report.
Supposing you wanted to come up with a wish list of the
characteristics of an ideal self powered glider for use from
the metropolitan areas in the US. As an example say you
lived near San Francisco and didn't want to trailer and drive
to a soaring spot say 100 miles away on roads with all the
intolerable traffic. Instead to launch at your favorite local GA
airport and fly to the soaring spots, what characteristics
would you desire from a motor glider?

1 Regular undercarriage to taxi on narrow taxiways.
2. Simple to assemble and breakdown from a trailer to
reduce airport costs.
3 Good climb and cruise characteristics.
4 Simple and reliable power unit.
5 Simple and reliable fold away undercarriage.
6 Everything mechanically simple including a fold away prop.
7 Good sailplane performance similar to a regular sailplane
8 Good power plane performance.
9 Simple to fly in all conditions.
10 Uses as much proven technology as possible.
11 Moderate cost

The Carat is based on the venerable Discus, std class glider.
The wings and tail section are almost identical to those of the
Discus and are produced by Schemp-Hirst who makes the
Discus. The motor is based on the old 4 cylinder horizontally
VW air cooled engine that has powered millions of bugs. The
only new items are a folding prop and a unique undercarriage
both of which are remarkably simple and elegant in design.

How does it fly? Superbly.

After a 15 minute intro to the Carat I climbed into a comfortable
cockpit and started the motor. The noise level was low and taxied
to runway 16 at Minden. Taxiing was easy and precise. The wheel
brakes are efficient and the tail wheel steering easy. Takeoff was smooth
and similar to any well designed tail dragger. Stick back on initial roll
then gently lifting the tail and a smooth takeoff. Climb rate was about
600fpm (4700msl) and the noise level low (I was not using a headset).
After gaining sufficient altitude I tried steep turns and also a high
speed (90knots) cruise. Smooth and still quiet although at full power
at 95knots engine rpm approaches, but does not exceed redline. Of
course in normal cruising flight you would power down to 75% power.
The engine off procedure is 2 step. Initially airspeed is reduced to 60
knots IAS and power reduced for 2000rpm for a couple of minutes
and then to idle for 30 seconds further reducing airspeed to 52knots.
Lastly ignition off and airspeed to about 48knots and the prop folds
forward.
As a glider it felt very similar to a Discus - agile. smooth and without
any bad habits - a delight.
The motor restarted immediately in the air. So much better than the
extraction of the power unit in my DG800B and similar to the starting
of my STEMME S-10VT.
I landed as a glider with motor off, rolled off the runway and started the
motor and taxied to parking.

Conclusion.

That the Carat does everything right is my overall opinion. Sure an open
class sailplane has a little more performance but so much inconvenience.
But try and find me a better solution to the wish list above. Nothing
comes close to the Carat for a single place motor glider in achieving
the best overall compromises. It is a winner. Check it out.
Dave

PS The 2 attachments show N234WF. Note the fold forward prop