Schleicher ASW 12
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| Type designation | ASW 12 |
| Competition class | Open |
| Production run | 1966-1970 |
| Number built | 14 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Length | 7.35 |
| Height | 1.50 |
| Wingspan | 18.30 m |
| Wing area | 13.0 m² |
| Aspect ratio | 25.8 |
| Wing profile: | Wortmann FX 62-K-131 modified and FX 60-126 |
| Empty mass | 324 kg |
| Water ballast | - |
| Maximum mass | 430 kg |
| Maximum wing loading | 31.5 kg/m² |
| Maximum speed | 200 km/h |
| Stall speed | 68 km/h |
| Minimum sink rate | ca. 0.57 m/s |
| Best glide ratio | ca. 46 |
The ASW-12 is a single-seat Sailplane of glass composite construction. The wing is shoulder mounted and it has a T-tail. It is essentially a developed production version of the Akaflieg Darmstadt D-36.
[edit] History
In 1965 Gerhard Waibel left the Technical University of Darmstadt to enter Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co as a designer. His first project for his new employer was the ASW-12. This sailplane achieved numerous records and victories in national and international competitions. The exploits of Hans-Werner Grosse in an ASW-12 are legendary, e.g. the 1461 km flight of April 25, 1972 from Lübeck to Biarritz which stood for thirty years as the absolute World Free Distance Record.
[edit] Construction
The fuselage of the ASW-12 was extremely slender for its time. It has a retractable landing gear and a two-piece canopy, of greater depth than was the case with the D-36. Each individual fuselage was manufactured - as with the D-36 - in two halves laid-up on positive molds. The construction material was a double sandwich of glass-fibre reinforced composite over balsa wood. This is an unusual and expensive procedure for serial production.
The wing planform is double-tapered. The profile is a modified Wortmann FX 62-K-131 at the wing root and a Wortmann FX 60-126 at the tip. The wings were built in the usual fashion in negative molds, and are also of fiberglass/balsa wood sandwich construction. Water ballasting is not available.
As landing aid the ASW-12 possesses only a parachute brake, an unreliable system that lacks modulation. A number of ASW-12 were retroffited with a second chute to increase the odds of successful landings.
[edit] Sources
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