The Schleicher AS 33 is a German

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 ...

manufactured by Alexander Schleicher. The prototype had its maiden flight from Huhnrain Airport, Poppenhausen near

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...

on 23 January 2020. The design can be flown in the 18 metre class or in the 15 metre class.

Design and development

The AS 33 is based upon the ASG 29, with a totally new wing with an span and area, which optimizes the airflow around the fuselage/wing transition as well as at the wingtips. The AS 33 is a single-seat,

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 ...

sailplane of composite construction, with a

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 i ...

. To fly in the FAI 15m class, a second pair of outer wings is available. The separation point for the outer wings is at 5.1m along the span.Alexander Schleicher brochure 2020 The glider has upward extending three-tier air-brakes and independently switchable electrical valves for the water ballast tanks in the inner and outer wings. The main wheel has a disc brake. The main wheel and the tail-wheel are retractable. Schleicher no longer includes the designer's initial in the glider's designation.

Variants

*AS 33: Pure sailplane, without any engine. *AS 33Es: with SOLO 2350 engine with an electric starter *AS33Me: Electric self-launcher

Specifications (with 18m wings)

Similar aircraft

* Schempp-Hirth Ventus-3 * Jonker JS-3 Rapture *

List of gliders This is a list of gliders/ sailplanes of the world, (this reference lists all gliders with references, where available) Note: Any aircraft can glide for a short time, but gliders are designed to glide for longer. By nationality *List of Ameri ...

References

External links

* {{Schleicher 2020s German sailplanes Schleicher aircraft Motor gliders Mid-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 2020