ASW 20 Handling Issues?

Very true. I took delivery of a new V2C that was supposed to be adjusted for my weight at the factory. Flew without re-weighting glider. First flight was a great soaring day, thank goodness, took about fours to be able to control glider between 45 - 75 knots. Turns out the tail weight was supposed to be 5 pounds, but factory put in 5 KG! Felt like trying to wrestle a greased pig.

On Tuesday, November 7, 2017 at 9:11:55 AM UTC-8, wrote:
Anyone purchasing an ASW 20A (actually, ANY glider), should query the previous owner (and assess his/her weight--hopefully without insulting them!), inspect the logbook and placards, and then do a full weight and balance to check the CG before flying it.

Recognizing that this latter time-consuming step may not be done by everyone immediately, at a minimum, inspect the tail for lead weights. In more recent gliders, there's often a battery compartment at the top of the vertical fin. The lead in my ASW 24 lives below the battery there so inspect carefully.

In older gliders, lead was added by removing the rudder and bolting it in the lower fin area. I removed the lead I had installed in my LS 3 when I sold it even though the new owner weighed more than I did. There's a lo-o-o-o-o-ng moment arm all the way back there so a small amount of weight has a fairly significant effect on the CG. It may be difficult or impossible to inspect for this without removing the rudder. Also, weight may have been added to the tailwheel or (in one case I'm aware of) in the tailwheel area itself

Obviously the CG can also be too far forward. I've seen lead weights in the nose installed by lighter pilots. But the too-far-aft CG seems to be more common and insidious.

The rule for CG is: take nothing for granted, even from the factory. I recently spoke with a very careful, highly analytical friend who discovered--after an alarming first flight--that the minimum cockpit weight for his new glider was far higher with the longer wingtips installed than with the short tips.

Taking your CG for granted can be fatal. I am familiar with at least one such stall/spin crash where CG may have been a factor.

Chip Bearden