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I saw the following statement on your site and came to the conclusion that I came to the right place. - "We are firm believers that touring motor gliders are the best way maximize the utility and enjoyment of pure flying" With that as an introduction, I am hoping to generate some good discussion around owning a motorglider (Pipistrel Sinus is my desired machine) and owning my own landing strip in the country somewhere. I am not a pilot yet but hope to earn my glider certificate in the next couple of years. I am nearing retirement age and wish to spend my retirement years touring the country. This generates all sorts of questions in my mind, such as: -How much does it cost to land and refuel? (Rotax 912, regular unleaded ) -Is there a forum or group of people that own and share there private landing strips, and if so how do I reach them? It would be great to build up a list of places throughout the country to land at and even greater if they had fuel at their location. -What is acceptable cross country weather for travel with a TMG and where is the distinctive line drawn to ground me? (VFR flight in a lightweight plane/glider) -Is it really that hard to maintain a grass landing strip? What are the logical things involved with the maintenance (grass cutting... grass cutting etc.. ). I have watched videos on installing the substrate: Grading, installing Mesh, Large rock, Filler rock, Sand, Soil, Grass seed. I've toyed with the idea of converting from grass to brick. All this is of course for light aircraft such as the Pipistrel Sinus. How may times larger should the landing strip be (what factor (2x, 3x ...)) than the takeoff and landing distance of my plane? -What are some recommended places in the Midwest (Minnesota) to get my Glider rating? I am told that it is possible (not probable) to get it with only 10hrs. of training at around 3 - $5K in cost. The dream for me would be to get my certificate 1st, then have my land purchased and an out building in place to house my MG, then fly a commercial flight to the location of my recently purchased motor glider and fly it home or near home. Finally, build the landing strip. In the mean time gaining some flight hours landing and taking off at different locations. _I am told that The Pipistrel Sinus is hard to beat in a number of categories: -Flight efficiency (approx. 3 gal/hr @ around 100knots) -Low maintenance all around. -Uneventful Stall Profile -Excellent glide ratio 28:1 -Excellent flight performance, with a climb rate exceeding 1000ft/min. -Short takeoff and landing ability (approx. 400') Did I forget anything? Let me know. I'm sure that you can punch some holes in my statements and philosophy (above). In fact I'm looking forward to being set straight in any areas you can enlighten me in. I really want to do this in the future, but I want a solid plan to execute by. Please help me and humor me with your discussions. Thanks in advance. -

I would like to see more posts on this site about flying your TMG on cross-countries. To start it off, my co-owner Dave and I flew from Atlanta to Corning California to Princeton New Jersey this past year in our Phoenix. We allowed a week out and a week back in case of weather or maintenance issues. We lost 3 days in North Texas due to weather and had no maintenance issues. Very beautiful scenery and would recommend that everyone do a long western US trip at least once with their motorglider. You can see a slide show of the trip on YouTube under Flying Adventures links listed below. So if you fly more than 3 hours away from your home field, drop a not on this thread and share it with us. I bet some of you flew to the SSA Convention in Little Rock this weekend? (I had to stay home 😞 ) Show us how capable your fun machine is at traveling and getting you and a friend to great destinations!

Our chairman reports that plans for the next fly-in are going well. Here is his report: Stay tuned to this thread and the latest on the "Events" tab to keep track of plans. Please sign-up as soon as practical on our sign-up page.

On course to Auburn, CA: Click the link: Spot Locator