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Alexander Schleicher

Schleicher ASK 21

A two-seat training glider: the standard for how flight is taught in an engineless aircraft.

Schleicher ASK 21 — Glider
Marek Ślusarczyk (Tupungato) Photo portfolio · CC BY 3.0
Schleicher ASK 21 — Glider
Marek Ślusarczyk (Tupungato) Photo portfolio · CC BY 3.0
Schleicher ASK 21 — Glider
Marek Ślusarczyk (Tupungato) Photo portfolio · CC BY 3.0

Overview

The ASK 21 is a two-seat training glider with tandem rather than side-by-side seating. A glider has no thrust; the aircraft descends continuously and altitude is gained only from rising masses of air.

That turns flight from a question of power into a question of reading. Finding thermals, interpreting what lies beneath a cloud and managing energy are skills an engine cannot substitute for, which is why many pilot programmes begin with gliding.

What a training glider needs is predictability rather than performance. Stall behaviour, control response and tolerance during landing set the student's margin for error.

Details

Brand
Alexander Schleicher
Category
Glider
Body
Glider
Propulsion
motorsuz
Produced
1979–