Schleicher ASK-21

Aircraft Information
> Aircraft Make: Alexander Schleicher. Model: ASK-21. Nickname: none
> Aircraft Mil Civ Description: Glider
> FAA Category and Class: Glider
> Engine Description: none

Aircraft Experience
> As of: 11/5/2025
> Number of Hours Flown: 11
> Number of Times Flown: 20
> Other Aircraft Models Associated: other ASK models.

First Flown Information
> Sequence First Flown: 35
> Date First Flown: 9/9/1987
> Location First Flown: NAS Patuxent River, MD (KNHK)
> Who and/or What Organization First Flown With: White, USNTPS

Recollections: I was assigned to USNTPS as a JO instructor and had been flying the X-26 (SGS 2-32) for the “glider curriculum”.  For one or two cycles of the curriculum we needed to take the X-26 out of service to do a complete inspection and overhaul some structural parts.  So, we contracted with a company to use their ASK-21 to replace, and later augment, the X-26.  The ASK-21 was a much better performer and did everything the X-26 could do, including spins (though it required the installation of a weight on the tail).

The glider curriculum at that time (and for at least a decade before and after) was 5 flights for the student.  The first flight was a 5,000 ft tow, release, basic airwork, loop, roll, spin, practice rope break turns, and a landing (usually demo’d).  The second was a tow to 3,000 ft, repeat practice flight, then a 3rd was another 3,000 ft tow and a checkride for the student.  The final two flights were a 400 ft rope break (fly to a truncated normal pattern) and then a 200 ft rope break (return for downwind landing).  Assuming this all went well, the students then flew two more flights solo, with an engineer classmate and they gathered data for a qualitative evaluation.  The debrief was great because a glider is so different than other airplanes (drag minimization is the name of the game, not stability…this shows up in many ways and drives home the important terms in the basic equations of motion for airplanes).