ASW-15 Impressions

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?

I flew one once many many years ago but it was just an early morning 15 minute sleigh ride and I was a kid. I don’t know how I would fit now (6ft 1in, 190 lbs but not broad shouldered, just long legged).

Hows the weak wx performance? How would you compare against a 201 libelle in climb and run? How much advantage does the cirrus have over it in run when both are dry?
Thanks guys

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.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

On Sunday, April 5, 2020 at 2:42:05 PM UTC-4, Martin Gregorie wrote:
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.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

When I was starting flying in the 90's, a club-mate had an ASW-15; there was a tool making the rounds for cleaning the aileron runs of the dried grease. IIRC, you 'bought' it from the previous user, used it, and waited for the next fellow with the problem, and 'sold' it to him for the same price + shipping. Don't know if it is still in circulation. Nice glider. Offset CG hook (we winched) so it yawed at the start of the roll.

Thanks Martin. And Yes Dan I read on an early ras posting about that “reaming tool�. I am hoping I can also get some flight/performance impressions from some of the folks checking in here, specially guys with experience also flying the 201, and the cirrus.

On Sunday, April 5, 2020 at 3:18:21 PM UTC-4, Dan Daly wrote:
On Sunday, April 5, 2020 at 2:42:05 PM UTC-4, Martin Gregorie wrote:
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.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

When I was starting flying in the 90's, a club-mate had an ASW-15; there was a tool making the rounds for cleaning the aileron runs of the dried grease. IIRC, you 'bought' it from the previous user, used it, and waited for the next fellow with the problem, and 'sold' it to him for the same price + shipping. Don't know if it is still in circulation. Nice glider. Offset CG hook (we winched) so it yawed at the start of the roll.

And a quick search of the archive: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/rec.aviation.soaring/ASW-15$20aileron$20tool%7Csort:date/rec.aviation.soaring/a84U42BifAQ/RNPME7d2y0MJ which describes the tool etc. Doug passed away of cancer.

Sorry to hear that Dan. I know we are delving into ancient history here, probably says something about us lol. But I still think of an asw-24 as a “new� bird lol.
Dan

On Sun, 05 Apr 2020 12:18:19 -0700, Dan Daly wrote:

[ASW-15] Offset CG hook (we winched) so it yawed at the start of
the roll.

The SZD Junior is also infamous for its offset CG hook, but we still
convert new solo pilots onto it on the winch. Its not too bad unless
there's a cross-wind from the right, in which case it *will* yaw a bit.

If you can successfully deal with winching a Junior in a right hand cross-
wind, you can probably handle crosswinds/offset hooks in any other
glider. At least the Junior has a central, nose mounted aerotow hook.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

20 years ago, I was in a ASW15B Co-op partnership. I only had about 140 hours of flying experience at that time. I learned a lot flying the ASW15B. It is easy to assemble, roomy (for me at 6'-200 lbs) and has no bad flight characteristics. No problems with the full flying horizontal stabilizer. I got about 115 hours in it, most of the flights about 2 houra. I did my Silver Altitude and Distance in it. I loved the way it thermaled in weak conditions. I tried to buy it from the partnership but could not come to terms. I wanted to do more cross country flying but was afraid of damaging the glider and inconveniencing my partners. Ended up getting a Hph 304CZ so I could do more cross-country.

Highly recommend the ASW15B as a first glass ship.

Chuck Zabinski

On Sunday, April 5, 2020 at 1:40:09 PM UTC-4, 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?

I flew one once many many years ago but it was just an early morning 15 minute sleigh ride and I was a kid. I don’t know how I would fit now (6ft 1in, 190 lbs but not broad shouldered, just long legged).

Hows the weak wx performance? How would you compare against a 201 libelle in climb and run? How much advantage does the cirrus have over it in run when both are dry?
Thanks guys

The '15 is an honest ship with Waibel handling and pretty much the same performance as the Std Cirrus. They have the same handicap.
You would fit in it fine.
If I was looking for a Club class ship, and not trying to be able to also fly Std, I would pick the Std Libelle.
Why?
Libelles have held up much better that 15's or Cirrus's. I own 2 and both still have nice finishes, even at their age. I doubt you will find a Cirrus or '15 that does not need finish work, unless it has already been refinished.
15 and Cirrus are a bit more rugged than the Libelle.
Cirrus is the only one with hinged canopy.
That said, the trailer could be the tie breaker.
FWIW
UH

Never owned one (did won a '17) but flew several different ones.
Pluses: Handles great, climbs well, limited water ballast capability ( "As" had bags put in by many owners - standard in the "B" model), holds value, assembles easy and the factory will still support it. Integral roll bar at rear of canopy frame. Well documented performance. Most of Part 2 of Reichman's book uses the '15 data.

Negatives: removable canopy (PITA), balsa core wing construction (susceptible to water damage), off-center CG hook (eliminated in "B" version) plus tail skid can lead to trouble on take off (groundloop).

There is an old AD for wing spar internal inspection on these and similar vintage Schleichers - probably complied with.
Good luck.
ROY