Originally Posted by
tdracer
Sort of an intriguing idea - an electric sailplane that could takeoff on it's own power, find a good area of thermals and shutdown the electric motor and glide for a while, then return to the airport using the electric motor if necessary to extend the range.
More than an intriguing idea - they have been been manufactured for many years. Try a search for "Antares 20E" (first flight 2003) and "Pipistrel Taurus" which are both self launching. There are other electric "sustainers" such as "FES" that do not have the power to self launch but can get off the ground with a low cost auto tow and then climb on the sustainer.