Photograph:
Schleicher ASH 26E VH-XKB (c/n 26246) at Camden, NSW in July 2013 (David C Eyre)
Country of origin:
Germany
Description:
Single-seat 18 metre (59 ft) Class glider
Power Plant:
One 41 kw (55 hp) Diamond AE50R Wankel-type single-rotor four-stroke air-and-liquid-cooled 294 cc (17.9 cub in) rotary engine
Specifications:
- Wingspan: 18 m (59 ft 1 in)
- Length: 7.05 m (23 ft 2 in)
- Height: 1.51 m (4 ft 11 in)
- Wing area: 11.68 m² (126 sq ft)
- Max speed: 270 km/h (170 mph)
- Max glide ratio: 50:1
- Rate of sink: 28.6 m/min (94 ft/min)
- Aspect ratio: 27.7
- Wing profile DU: 89-134/14
- Empty weight: 360 kg (792 lb)
- Loaded weight: 525 kg (1,155 lb)
History:
The ASH 26 series of gliders was produced by Alexander Schleicher GmbH and Co in Germany and was designed by Martin Heide. More than 230 examples have been produced. It was a high-performance unit of fibre reinforced composites and was built for the 18 m (59 ft) class of gliders. The structure was a complex of composites of carbon, aramid and polyethylene fibre reinforced plastics and had plain flaps, a retractable undercarriage and a water ballast system, the wings having pneumatic turbulators.
Two variants of the glider have been produced, the ASH 26 being the basic production variant without an engine for towed launching, and the ASH 26E, the self-launching variant. However, more than 90 per cent of examples produced have been self-launched models and a couple have been imported to this region.
Power plant installed was the Diamond AE50R, a 294 cc (17.9 cub-in) displacement unit which provided 41 kw (55 hp) at 7,750 rpm with a weight of 27.8 kg (61 lb), was built by Austro Engineering, an Austrian manufacturer based at Wiener Neustadt in lower Austria, and was a Wankel-type rotary engine.
Examples have been registered in Australasia, including VH-XKB (c/n 26246) based at Camden, NSW, first registered on 12 November 2010, fitted with a Rotax 277 single-cylinder, two-cycle, two-stroke, 19 kw (26 hp) 268.7 cc (16.4 cub in) fan-cooled engine.