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Mountain waves ride over the Mont Valier South of St Girons

Cross country to Morocco 2009 & 2013

Last update : 25/10/2019

Herewith the link to a superbe article published by FLYER Nov 2006

If you are not currently familiar with motorgliders, the two words "motor" and "glider" may be contradictory to you.

The first reason to fly motorglider is certainly to give you freedom to self-launch to avoid the wait for the towplane and the delays caused by the others. It also avoids you landing out. Self-launching and self-retrieve are important but more-over they allow you to soar more conveniently and more often.

Second reason to fly motorglider is the ability to fly to another place for a day, a week-end or a full week. Flying holidays or so called safaris, can be performed without ground crew. Just keep going towards the good soaring weather, day after day, until it's time to head back home

There is a large range of sailplanes and motorgliders on the market divided in two main categories. Single seat powered sailplanes with self-launch capability and double seat motorgliders. Their best glide ratios vary from 20/1 to over 50/1 pending plane type.

Each type has its pro's and its con's. The sailplanes with self-launch capability as the PIK20E, DG400, ASH26E, Nimbus 4M and others, are exceptional sailplanes when the motor is retracted. At the contrary as long as the motor is extracted the max glide ratio is poor due to the significant additional drag of the motor mast. Therefore the most critical phase is the phase after engine shut-off or before starting the engine when soaring.

The motorgliders with soaring capability have limited max gliding ratios. At their best the gliding ratios are 28/1 to 30/1 for the Grob G109, Dimona HK36, Ximang or Taifun. But they permit long motor flights and acceptable soaring in good conditions, friendly discussions with your partner and stressless engine starts when necessary.

Ouups, I forgot Majesty Stemme 10. Certainly the ideal motorglider. It is a top class sailplane and a great single engine aircraft. With a glide ratio of 50/1, its patented extendable propeller and over 200 Km/h in cruise mode, it combines both sailplane and motorglider advantages if your vallet can afford its owner costs.

We decided for the GROB G109B. We own our D-KBBW since Jan 2005. We are pleased to wellcome you at St Girons Antichan in South of France in the Pyranees for a ride on your request advised during your flight by an experienced pilot.

Please don't hesitate to contact us by Email for any suggestion to improve this site and/or for a first ride during a week-end or more if you plan vacations South of France in our gorgeous mountain country.