Moderator Note: Forked this off from the Part-103 Glider thread, as it was getting to be quite off-topic for that one. /Mod. Note
The problem with a single-seater E-AB motorglider is that you're virtually forced to buy a minimum of five hours instruction time from a qualified CFI-G to get your self-launch endorsement before you can fly it. The FAR's say, IIRC, that less than 5h is allowed, but that 5h is the "recommended minimum" from the FAA, and what CFI-G is really going to undercut that and risk their own instructor's certificate if they're wrong. This is all on top of having a Glider rating, of course. An SEL or other non-Glider rating won't do. And no, the fact that it's a single-seater experimental doesn't waive this requirement.
The nearest commercially-available motorglider to me is a Stemme S-10 down at Warner Springs. Which rents for $250 an hour, plus fuel. So add a minimum of $1,500 or so to the cost of the aircraft, in my case.
There is a body of thought that a sustainer-equipped sailplane that cannot self-launch does not require a self-launch endorsement, but I've heard highly conflicting opinions on that one. However, if the aircraft is capable of taking off under its own power and (I presume) climbing out of ground effect, it's abundantly clear in the FAR's that flying the aircraft requires a Glider rating and self-launch endorsement. Period, full stop.
The problem with a single-seater E-AB motorglider is that you're virtually forced to buy a minimum of five hours instruction time from a qualified CFI-G to get your self-launch endorsement before you can fly it. The FAR's say, IIRC, that less than 5h is allowed, but that 5h is the "recommended minimum" from the FAA, and what CFI-G is really going to undercut that and risk their own instructor's certificate if they're wrong. This is all on top of having a Glider rating, of course. An SEL or other non-Glider rating won't do. And no, the fact that it's a single-seater experimental doesn't waive this requirement.
The nearest commercially-available motorglider to me is a Stemme S-10 down at Warner Springs. Which rents for $250 an hour, plus fuel. So add a minimum of $1,500 or so to the cost of the aircraft, in my case.
There is a body of thought that a sustainer-equipped sailplane that cannot self-launch does not require a self-launch endorsement, but I've heard highly conflicting opinions on that one. However, if the aircraft is capable of taking off under its own power and (I presume) climbing out of ground effect, it's abundantly clear in the FAR's that flying the aircraft requires a Glider rating and self-launch endorsement. Period, full stop.
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