Schleicher ASW 17

ASW 17
Role	Open-class sailplane
National origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Schleicher
Designer	Gerhard Waibel
First flight	17 July 1971
Number built	55

The Schleicher ASW 17 is a single-seat Open Class sailplane that was built by the German manufacturer Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co. It was also known as the Super Orchidee.

Design and development

The ASW 17 was designed by Gerhard Waibel, supposedly as a development of the Schleicher ASW 12, but was an entirely new design. The wing is in four sections. The camber-changing flaps are connected to the ailerons. It has Schempp-Hirth airbrakes plus an optional tail parachute. It first flew on 17 July 1971 and 55 were built before production stopped in 1976.

Variants

In addition to the regular ASW 17, there is an ASW 17S which was a 21-metre span version built in 1973 but this was later reduced to 20m. The ASW 17X was also a single aircraft that was built in 1976 with 19-metre span. One other was modified to 23 metres after production.

Competition history

ASW 17s came second in the World Gliding Championships in 1972, third in 1974. George Lee won in 1976 and in 1978 in an ASW 17. Hans-Werner Grosse broke several world records in his ASW 17 including: the record goal flight at 1,231 km in 1974, the triangular distance record 1,063 km in 1977 and then again at 1,306.9 km, and the 1,250 km speed triangle at 133.24 km/h in 1980. Karl Striedeck broke another record by a flight of 1,634.7 km out and return in 1977 in an ASW 17.

Specifications (ASW 17)

General characteristics

Crew: One
Capacity: 100 kg (220 lb) water ballast
Length: 7.55 m (24 ft 9 in)
Wingspan: 20.00 m (65 ft 7 in)
Height: 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Wing area: 14.8 m² (159 ft²)
Aspect ratio: 27
Wing profile: Root: Wortmann FX 62-K-131 thickened to 14.4% Mid: FX 62-K-131 Tip: FX 60-126
Empty weight: 415 kg (913 lb)
Gross weight: 610 kg (1,340 lb)

Performance

Maximum speed: 250 km/h (135 mph)
Maximum glide ratio: 48
Rate of sink: 0.49 m/s (96 ft/min)

References

Gliders and Sailplanes of the World by Michael Hardy - Ian Allan Ltd 1982 ISBN 0-7110-1152-4
Sailplanes 1965-2000 by Martin Simons - Eqip ISBN 3-9808838-1-7

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alexander Schleicher.

Sailplane directory

Schleicher glider types

Wooden construction pre-World War II	Condor Hols der Teufel Poppenhausen Rhönadler Rhönbussard

Wooden construction (Rudolf Kaiser)	Ka 1 Rhönlaus Ka 2 Rhönschwalbe Ka 3 Ka 4 Rhönlerche II Ka 6 Rhönsegler K7 K7/13 K 8 Ka-9 K 10 ASK 13 ASK 14 ASK 16 ASK 18

GRP construction (Rudolf Kaiser)	ASK 21 ASK 23

GRP construction (Gerhard Waibel)	ASW 12 ASW 15 ASW 17 ASW 19 ASW 20 ASW 22 ASW 24 ASW 27 ASW 28

GRP construction (Martin Heide)	ASH 25 ASH 26 ASH 30 ASH 31

GRP construction (Michael Greiner)	ASG 29 ASG 32

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