Schleicher ASW 12

Schleicher ASW 12
An ASW 12, exhibited in the German Glider Museum
Type:	Glider
Design country:	BR Germany
Manufacturer:	Alexander Schleicher
First flight:	December 31, 1965
Number of pieces:	15th

The ASW 12 is a single-seat glider in plastic construction. With the first flight in 1965, the ASW 12 is one of the first gliders made from GRP . The wing is designed as a shoulder wing and the tail unit as a T-tail unit. The ASW 12 is a series version and is derived from the D 36 developed by Akaflieg Darmstadt .

history

In 1965, the designer Gerhard Waibel moved from the TU Darmstadt to the glider manufacturer Alexander Schleicher in Poppenhausen / Rhön . His first construction for the new employer was the ASW 12. The ASW 12 won numerous titles and placements in national and international competitions. The flight of Hans-Werner Grosse , who set a world record with an ASW 12 on April 25, 1972 from Lübeck to Biarritz for the free distance of 1,461 kilometers, is legendary.

The prototype of the ASW 12, the AS 12 , is now in the German Gliding Museum on the Wasserkuppe . The ASW 12 was rediscovered by chance in the USA.

construction

The fuselage of the ASW 12 is extremely slim and has a retractable undercarriage and a two-part hood that is pulled down lower than that of the D 36. As with the D 36, each individual fuselage was made in positive construction over a core in two half-shells and consists of a GRP - balsa - sandwich . This is a very unusual procedure for a production glider. The wing is designed in a double trapezoidal shape. The profile is a modified Wortmann FX 62-K-131 at the root and a Wortmann FX 60-126 in the area of ​​the wing tips. In contrast to the fuselage, the two-part wing was produced using the negative process. A GRP balsa wood sandwich was also used on the grand piano. The wing has no possibility of ballast absorption. As a landing aid, the ASW 12 only has a braking parachute . Individual ASW 12 were retrofitted with a second braking parachute under the fuselage to improve landing behavior. The flap kinematics were later revised in such a way that a flap position of 50 ° is possible for landing. Few of the ASW 12 are still able to fly, one is stationed at the Hetzleser Berg airfield.

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data
span	18.3 m
Wing area	13.0 m²
Wing extension	25.8
Hull length	7.35 m
Height at the tail	1.5 m
Wing profile	Wortmann modified FX 62-K-131 and FX 60-126
Empty weight with minimum equipment	324 kg
Max. Take-off mass	430 kg
Wing loading (85 kg perm.)	31.5 kg / m²
Top speed	200 km / h
Minimum speed	68 km / h
lowest sinking (single seat)	0.57 m / s
Glide ratio	46

Web links

Commons : ASW 12  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Data on ASW 12

See also: List of aircraft types

literature

• Peter F. Seliger: Rhön-Adler. 75 years of Alexander Schleicher glider construction. Publisher RG Fischer, Frankfurt a. M., 2nd edition 2003.
• Richard and Monique Ferrière: Les Planeurs et Motoplaneurs d 'Alexander Schleicher 1951–1981. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3613011905 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Alexander Schleicher: All types of aircraft since 1951 , accessed on December 18, 2018.