Photograph:
Schleicher ASH 25M Glider ZK-GZF (c/n 25202) at Omaka, NZ in April 2011 (David C Eyre)
Country of origin:
Germany
Description:
Two-seat high-performance glider
Power Plant:
One Norton single-rotor engine with liquid-cooled housing and with forced-air rotor cooling, carburetted with dual electronic ignition firing two spark-plugs, and electrical starting
Specifications:
- [ASH 25M]
- Wingspan: 25.6 m (84 ft)
- Length: 9.0 m (29 ft 5 in)
- Wing area: 16.46 m² (177.17 sq ft)
- Minimum speed: 75 km/h (47 mph)
- Water ballast: 120 litres (26 Imp gals)
- Minimum sink rate at 85 km/h (53 mph): 25 m/min (82 ft/min)
- Wing loading: 40.7 kg/m² (89.72 lb/sq ft)
- Empty weight: 476 kg (1,049 lb)
- Loaded weight: 750 kg (1,653 lb)
History:
The ASH 25 was one of a series of gliders produced by Schleicher in West Germany over the last 75 years, one of the first in the series being the Condor designed by Heini Dittmar, built at Wasserkuppe, and entering production in 1932. The ASH 25 was a model produced with a Rotax engine, with which it could sustain flight but not self-launch. The ASH 25E had a 45 kw (60 hp) Mid-West rotary engine, with which it was able to self-launch, and the ASH 25M, which had a Norton rotary engine, this unit being built in the United Kingdom and it being said Norton Motors solved the typical “Wankel-type” problems. Other self-launched models in the Schleicher series have been imported, including the single-seat ASW 14 and the ASH 26 series. A number of examples of the series have been registered in this region. Construction was of carbon, Aramid and fibreglass.
In December 2004 Steven Fossett and Terry Delore flew an ASH 25M between the Argentine cities of El Calafate in Patagonia and San Juan in San Juan province, setting a Free Distance World Record of 1,287 km (1,359 miles) in a time of 15 hours 42 mins.