Hello all. Anthony Smith's posting has prompted quite a few Aussie pilots to seek further information on the ASH 30.
Here it is! After almost 270 deliveries over 20 years the almost unbelievable production run of the ASH 25 is coming to an end. A replacement model has recently been announced and has already progressed from the drawing board to the workshop with the initial fabrication of precision moulds and templates. It will be called ASH 30 and is expected to fly for the first time late next year. The list of changes or refinements is quite long. Rather than putting new wings with the latest generation of airfoils onto an existing fuselage, Schleicher opted for a totally new design. The cockpit will be significantly roomier in both the front and back seat to make even the tallest of pilots totally comfortable on long flights. Forward visibility will be further improved by an enlarged front canopy and further design refinements ensure a much easier access to the rear seat. Automatic control connections throughout the aircraft are factory standard in future and the maximum all-up weight will be increased to the current JAR 22 limits of 850kg. This will give pilots a much wider spectrum of wing loadings and enable them to fully explore the performance potential by an easier adaptation to different conditions. Although the ASH 30 will be available as a pure sailplane all fuselages will already be prepared for an engine retrofit. Self launching versions of the aircraft will be called ASH 30 Mi and will be powered by the well proven and fuel injected rotary engine from Diamond Aircraft. Combined with a tailor made propeller the engine gives the ASH 30 self launching capabilities with an impressive climb performance. In over 10 years of service this rotary engine has gained a reputation for unsurpassed reliability, quiet operation, vibration free running, very low maintenance requirements and by far the lowest fuel consumption of any self launching glider on the market. Schleicher has been uncharacteristically guarded as far as the wing design is concerned. So far it has only been announced that the wingspan will be increased further and that winglets will become part of the standard design. However, it can be safely assumed that the outer wing panels will be borrowing heavily from the successful ASG 29. Its superb high speed performance (combined with an ability to carry large amounts of water ballast with ease) make an adapted ASG 29 wing ideal for this new generation of open class gliders. So far neither drawings nor polar curves have been released and details are not expected to become available until later in 2007. However, based on well known ASH 25 performance figures and recent detailed ASG 29 flight measurements Schleicher experts have calculated a significant performance margin over current generations of Open Class gliders. The ex-works price for the first batch of ASH 30 has been set to just above the current ASH 25 model although the manufacturer reserves the right to review the pricing structure after exact production costs have been established. Several firm orders have already been received for delivery in 2009. Bernard Eckey FUTURE AVIATION PTY. LTD. 10 Antigua Grove West Lakes 5021 Adelaide / South Australia Ph/Fax +61 8 8449 2871 mobile 0412 981204 [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Anthony Smith Sent: Friday, 12 January 2007 10:52 AM To: Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia. Subject: [Aus-soaring] ASH-30 announced Schleichers have announced on their webpage the ASH-30 as being the successor of the ASH-25. No significant details yet. Still no sign of a 20m class double seater from Schleichers yet... : ( _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.internode.on.net To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.internode.on.net To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
