The ASW 28 is a
Standard Class glider
Glider may refer to:
Aircraft and transport Aircraft
* Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight
** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...
with a fifteen-metre
span
Span may refer to:
Science, technology and engineering
* Span (unit), the width of a human hand
* Span (engineering), a section between two intermediate supports
* Wingspan, the distance between the wingtips of a bird or aircraft
* Sorbitan ester ...
built of modern fibre reinforced composites. The manufacturer of the ASW-28 is
Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co. The 'W' indicates this is a design of the influential and prolific German designer
Gerhard Waibel. Serial production started in 2000.
Design and development
The ASW 28 is a single-seat shoulder-winged composite construction sailplane with a T-shaped horizontal tailplane and 15 metre wingspan. The upper wing surface has Schempp-Hirth airbrakes.
As all Standard Class sailplanes, the ASW-28 does not have
flaps or other lift-enhancing devices. It has tall
winglets
Wingtip devices are intended to improve the efficiency of fixed-wing aircraft by reducing drag. Although there are several types of wing tip devices which function in different manners, their intended effect is always to reduce an aircraft' ...
, a retractable
undercarriage
Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include:
*The landing gear of an aircraft.
*The ch ...
and a water ballast system. The structure is a complex composite of
carbon
Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent
In chemistry, the valence (US spelling) or valency (British spelling) of an element is the measure of its combining capacity with o ...
,
aramid
Aramid fibers, short for aromatic polyamide, are a class of heat-resistant and strong synthetic fibers. They are used in aerospace and military applications, for ballistic-rated body armor fabric and ballistic composites, in marine cordage, ma ...
and
polyethylene
Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging ( plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bo ...
fibre reinforced plastic. This permits a light structure with the strength to carry large amounts of water ballast, thus permitting the widest possible range of wing loadings for weak and strong soaring weather.
The ASW-28 supersedes the
ASW 24 in the manufacturer's production line. It has – like its competitors
Rolladen-Schneider LS8
The Rolladen-Schneider LS8 is a Standard and 18 metre class single-seat glider developed by Rolladen-Schneider and in series production since 1995. Currently it is manufactured by DG Flugzeugbau.
Development
By the mid–to–late eighties th ...
and
Schempp-Hirth Discus-2
The Schempp-Hirth Discus-2 is a Standard Class sailplane produced by Schempp-Hirth since 1998. It replaced the highly successful Schempp-Hirth Discus.
Design and development
In plan view the almost crescent shape of the leading edge is simi ...
– a version with wing extensions for the increasingly popular
18 metre Class, the ASW 28-18. The sustainer (non-self-launching) variant of the 18 metre version is the ASW 28-18 E. The sustainer uses a SOLO 2350 18 hp
two-stroke engine
A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of t ...
.
Variants
;ASW 28
:Production variant with 15 metre wingspan.
;ASW 28-18
:Production variant with either a 15 metre or 18 metre span, also optional engine installation.
;ASW 28-18 E
:Production variant with a 13.2 kW (18 hp) SOLO 2350 2-stroke sustainer engine.
Specifications (with 15 metre wings)
See also
References
Alexander Schleicher GmbH & CoSailplane Directory
*Simons M, Segelflugzeuge 1965–2000, Eqip, 2004
{{Schleicher
2000s German sailplanes
Schleicher aircraft
T-tail aircraft
Shoulder-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 2000