The ASH 26 is an
18 metre 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 gliding
...
, built of modern fibre reinforced composites. It first flew in 1993. It is manufactured by
Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co
Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co is a major manufacturer of sailplanes located in Poppenhausen, near Fulda in Germany.
It is also the oldest sailplane manufacturer in the world.
History
The company was founded in 1927 by Alexander Schleicher u ...
. The 'H' indicates this is a design of
Martin Heide.
The ASH 26 has plain
flaps, a retractable
undercarriage 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—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon ma ...
,
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, mar ...
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 b ...
fibre reinforced plastic. The wings have pneumatic
turbulator
A turbulator is a device that turns a laminar boundary layer into a turbulent boundary layer.
Device
Turbulent flow can be desired on parts of the surface of an aircraft wing (airfoil) or in industrial applications such as heat exchangers and t ...
s. Of the ASH 26s sold, over 90% are the self-launching version, the ASH 26 E;
the engine being a liquid cooled Diamond (now
Austro Engine)
AE50R Wankel rotary engine.
Variants
;ASH 26
:Production variant with 18-metre wingspan.
;ASH 26 E
:Production variant, self launching utilising the 37 kW (50 hp)
AE50R engine.
Image:Schleicher ASH 26E sailplane 1.jpg
Image:Schleicher ASH 26E sailplane 3.jpg
Specifications (ASH 26 E)
References
Further reading
*
External links
Alexander Schleicher GmbH & CoSailplane Directory
{{Schleicher
1990s German sailplanes
Schleicher aircraft
T-tail aircraft
Shoulder-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1993