Jeff Runciman wrote:
After spending some time in Phoenix on a Grob 103,
I have started looking for my first glass glider. I
am currently looking at an ASW20A and a Standard Cirrus.
I know they are quite different. I guess my concerns
are the full flying tail on the Cirrus and the flaps
on the ASW. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I'll confine my comments to the ASW-20. I've flown four different ones
over the years. All handled beautifully in normal flight, but flying
slow in positive flap, two were perfectly benign, and the other two had
a tendency towards abrupt stall and spin entry with essentially no
warning. For whatever reason, there is some variation in stall/spin
characteristics from ship to ship. The good ones are suitable for
anyone with glass experience, the bad ones would be an unfortunate
choice for a low time pilot, given the limited amount of spin training
here in the US.

The other issue to note is that ASW-20s have a manual elevator hookup.
Some would argue that this is not an issue for the careful pilot, but
two of my otherwise careful friends managed to get careless with this
hookup, and are no longer with us.

If you want a 20, and can afford to pay a bit more, get a 20B or 20C, as
their spin characteristics are more predictable, and they have automatic
elevator hookups. There are other gliders in this price range worth
considering, including ASW-19, Std Jantar, DG-100/101, Std Libelle (if
you're small), Hornet, Mosquito, LS-1, LS-3, and LS-4.

Marc


Marc