| ASK 18 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| ASK18 at Camphill, Derbyshire 2011 | |
| Role | Club class sailplane |
| National origin | Germany |
| Manufacturer | Schleicher |
| Designer | Rudolf Kaiser |
| First flight | October 1974 |
| Number built | 56 |
| Developed from | Schleicher K 8 |
The Schleicher ASK 18 is a single-seat sailplane that was built by the German manufacturer Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co. It was designed to be a sturdy aircraft for inexperienced solo pilots and so uses a simple and rugged construction and has docile handling characteristics.
The ASK 18 was designed by Rudolf Kaiser and was the last Schleicher glider to use the traditional construction method, at a time when contemporary aircraft of the same class, such as the Grob G102 Astir, were made of glass-fibre. The fuselage was derived from the Ka 8 and used welded steel tube and spruce longerons. It is covered in fabric. The wings are from the Ka 6E but with 16-metre span. They have a single wooden spar. The rear part of the wing is fabric-covered and the ailerons are plywood-covered. The tailplane came from the K 10; the fin and tailplane are plywood-covered and the rudder and elevators are fabric covered. A Flettner trim tab is fitted to the elevator. Only the nose cone is glass-fibre. The main-wheel is fixed and has a brake. There is a tail-skid but no nose-skid. The Schempp-Hirth airbrakes extend above and below the wing. First flight was in October 1974.
A variation was the ASK 18B which had a span reduced to 15m. At the end of production in 1977 38 K18s and 9 K18Bs had been built by Schleicher and one unknown variant built from a kit. A further 8 K18-ARs were produced in Argentina.
General characteristics
Performance
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Gliders and Sailplanes of the World by Michael Hardy Ian Allan Ltd 1982 ISBN 0-7110-1152-4
