Don't want to be a smart ass, but if you don't wanna break props don't use them. They are really not necessary. IM.</p>

O.K. I do understand your point. I enjoy pure gliders as well. You must be a hand launcher, which I respect. Electric assist questions are re-directed to this form, and I for one would like them to feel welcome. In time they too will enjoy pure gliders, even if they still have to rely on winch assist. I do, and 35 other guys at yesterday's gathering, what a great time.
-Snuts-

Then again, I've yet to break a folder.

You haven't been flying a Parkaone Radian. Or, an E-Flight Ascent, either.

Add soft start to your ESC, bet your prop problems are gone. -Snuts-

Not all of us have the luxary of a field large enough or under control enough to be able to use a high start or winch. For those that must share with joggers, dog walkers, kids at play and sporting teams an electric assist sailplane is the obvious and appropriate answer. To say that we should just toss the props away flies in the face of reality for many and shows either short sightedness or that you've got acres and acres of grass land as your disposal that not many are able to copy.

Slope soaring allows you to dispense with propellers, hi-starts and winches. If you can find a sloping site in your area it would open up a whole new segment to your flying experience. Imagine just chucking your glider off the slope and flying for hours without powerplant or assisted launch devices. We have many sloping site to choose from in Southern California where I live with rather reliable lift. If you do a search on RCGROUPS.com under the slope heading you will find that there is probably a slope site near you. It's true that you may have to drive a bit to try slope soaring, but once you do you'll be hooked! The slope soaring section at RCGROUPS.com is the most active of all the soaring sites.


BTW- In case you think that slope soaring might be boring, consider that the guys involved with "Dynamic Soaring" have been clocked at over 300 mph. That ought to be enough excitement for anyone!

Broke my Radian prop at about 1/4 throttle just getting ready to launch it.
Broke my Ascent prop while climbing at 5 or 600 feet. When it went, it twisted the front end completely out.
No more cheap plastic props for me! [&o]

Yeah, that's it, I'm not a "Purist".

Are you doin it right???

Fishing? I'll bite ! Send me anything you have that isn't launched by towplane, including radio gear, planes, highstarts, winches...Oh! since full scale requires actually sitting in them. send me your less than fullscale sailplanes as well! Oh yeah, you can't afford the real thing, so you gotta play with "toys" like the rest of us that stand on the ground and pretend to fly, haw! Next time you launch a "scale" ship without a prop, post up some pics, would love to see the scale launch method you use that doesn't involve a 50ft tall giant heaving a plane king kong style off a cliff or using rubber stretched by the same giant, or just show your "pure scale" ship, being towed by your scale tow plane (with a prop, by the way). If you want to be a pure sailplane pilot, and condemn others that use a more efficient or economic launch method, then join a purist club and don't ask for a tow by anything less than a purist's towplane! You're trolling, and you know it too, so just stop posting your unhelpfull crud or actually help a new guy out with building advice or aerodynamic answers to questions related to flight regardless of launch method used. When the motor shuts off, they fly the same way since the laws of physics don't care weather you launch with a bungee, towplane, or e-motor and prop, they all fly the same, so get over yourself and help some new guys out for a change. Just sayin...