Rowan Griffin wrote:

There's probably a scare story for every glider made,
so read about it and learn from other people's mistakes...ASW20
elevator works perfectly if you remember to connect
it,
I urge you to consider a B or C models. I know many people - all
experienced pilots - that took off with the elevator not connected in an
ASW 20. It's just an ASW 20 problem, of course. I think it's a lot
easier to deal with a disconnected flap or aileron, and it seems these
are much less likely to be overlooked.

snip

Only ever wire launched it, which it does well. BUT
it is extremely important to make sure that the flap
lever is fully engaged with the gate (and that is unworn),
as there have been serious accidents where the flaps
have slipped into full landing on the wire, causing
an immediate stall...I have heard of the same thing
happening on the airtow ground run, though with less
dramatic outcome.

Do you mean the flaps slipped into a high speed position? It takes a
fair amount of force to pull the flaps into the landing position, but
they will slide easily forward into a negative flap position. This will
reduce the lift and cause the glider to descend, which might look like a
stall. Regardless, having the flap handle move itself to a new position
is a bad thing!

Get a carbon sparred wing one - the others feel like
they come pre filled with water ballast, seriously!

Frankly, most ASW 20 pilots consider the bendy wings a real asset and
part of their charm! It was one of the reasons it was so popular with
the ridge runners on the Alleghenies: those bendy wings give it a
smoother, more comfortable ride in turbulence. I certainly enjoyed the
smooth ride in my ASW 20C, and was a bit disappointed that the carbon
fiber wing of my ASH 26 E wasn't so forgiving. It's still bendy compared
to many gliders, but not like the ASW 20 and 20 C.

Regardless, I know the ASW 20 and 20 C did not have carbon fiber spars,
and I'm pretty sure the B didn't either. The B model did have much
heavier wings because of the extra fiberglass to needed carry the extra
water ballast it was rated for, but I think was mostly due to thicker
wing skins. Should you decide on an ASW 20 model, and you don't need the
extra wing loading, go for a C model.

--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA

www.motorglider.org - Download "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane
Operation"