Case Study

Let me expand on two of these situations from last summer.

One day in Ionia, Michigan, the cu started early, but only to a two thousand feet AGL base. None of the locals launched when I did, preferring to wait for the bases to rise. The lift was less than a knot, but there seemed to be no sink, and every cloud worked. Gently dolphining from one puffy cumulus to the next, I stayed between 1500' and 2000' (AGL) as I covered about 70 miles in the first two hours. How different from our usual flying! I flew a four hour, 150 mile cross-country in these odd conditions, and never required the motor. Without the it, I would have flown locally, but not gone cross-country. The locals never did fly because the bases didn't rise until too late in the day.

In mid-April, happy cumulus clouds over Hermiston encouraged me to head south. The other pilots went north, fearing the Hermiston basin would, as usual, die by mid-afternoon, cutting off their return to Richland. I was certain they were right, but with my ticket home nestled behind the wing, I went past Heppner then pushed well into the mountains. The bases rose, the lift increased, streets appeared, and best of all, I was flying in new territory. What a rush! Late in the day, I turned back with John Day, Oregon, in sight. The clouds ended before Pendleton, Hermiston was a pit, but with slow, careful climbs (and 50:1 glides), I inched my way across Hermiston and the Columbia River. Once again I managed to get home without the motor.

Sometimes I do have to use the motor to get home. Most of the time, I discover there is more lift out there than we realize. Because a retrieve or landout is so inconvenient, most glider pilots play it safe by heading back early, or by not going there in the first place. We take pride in getting back, and don't think of all the soaring we missed. Why else is the first question I often asked after my flight is "Did you use the motor?", instead of "How was the soaring?"

It astounds me that many glider pilots, even some motorglider pilots, consider it a "failure" if the motor is used after the launch. A record attempt will fail if the motor is used, but not a recreational flight. Most of my post-launch motor use is anticipated hours before it happens: I frequently, consciously, make soaring decisions that will almost surely require the motor to return home. Why? So I can do more and better soaring! Read the examples again, and consider this: would you make different soaring decisions if every airport, duster strip, and yes, even every cut hayfield, had a towplane and pilot, eagerly waiting to tow you home for a five bucks?

I sure have.

The joys and pleasures of owning a motorglider, and how you might be able to afford one.