The Advanced Soaring Concepts Falcon, also called the Advanced Soaring Concepts American Falcon, is an American

mid-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

T-tail A T-tail is an empennage configuration in which the tailplane is mounted to the top of the fin. The arrangement looks like the capital letter T, hence the name. The T-tail differs from the standard configuration in which the tailplane is ...

ed, single-seat,

FAI 15-Metre Class Competition classes in gliding, as in other sports, mainly exist to ensure fairness in competition. However the classes have not been targeted at fostering technological development as in other sports. Instead classes have arisen because of: * t ...

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 ...

that was designed by Tor Jensen and produced by Advanced Soaring Concepts, and first flew in 1993. The aircraft was produced as a kit for amateur construction.

Design and development

The Falcon was designed by Jensen as the 15-metre class version of the FAI Standard Class

Spirit Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

. The aircraft is made predominantly from

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...

sandwiches, with the wing spar made from carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer. The cockpit is made from welded steel tube, reinforced with

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 ...

. Its span wing has optional extensions that bring the span to . Glidepath control is via full span trailing edge flaps, coupled with top surface

Schempp-Hirth Schempp-Hirth Flugzeugbau GmbH is a glider manufacturer based in Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany. History Martin Schempp founded his own company in Göppingen in 1935, with the assistance of Wolf Hirth. The company was initially called "Sportfl ...

-style airbrakes. The flaps can be set to +15°, +10°, +5°, 0°, and -5° in flight. The cockpit was designed to accommodate a pilot of up to in height and weighing up to with parachute. The

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...

is a retractable monowheel.

Specifications (Falcon)

References

{{Advanced Soaring Concepts aircraft 1990s United States sailplanes Homebuilt aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1993 T-tail aircraft

Design and development

Specifications (Falcon)

See also

References