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Old April 5th 20, 07:42 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Martin Gregorie[_6_]
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Default ASW-15 Impressions

On Sun, 05 Apr 2020 10:40:07 -0700, uneekcowgirl wrote:

For the guys here who are familiar with 1970’s soaring, have any of you
owned an asw-15 and what were your impressions of them?

First off, I've not owned one, have heard two maintenance points
discussed at Milfield, where there were two of them:

- before s/n 356 the wing, like early Libelles, has a glass/balsa/glass
wing skin. The main spar is a box with vertical grain balsa webs, but
the inside of the box is unpainted so, during annuals, its interior
must be inspected for mould

- the aileron pushrods run through nylon bearings which, if greased, can
get clogged with a dust/grease mixture which makes the ailerons stiff.
I'm told its a right ******* to remove without chopping holes in the
wing.

A Danish friend had an early ASW-15 and liked it, though its single tow
hook is offset from the center line and its position is a compromise
between winch and aero tow. The B series fixed that and can carry water.

If you know Karl Striedieck ask him about them: he once owned one and set
out and return distance records with it.


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