First Flight of Jeff's Schleicher ASK-14

Friday we gathered at Skaneateles Airport to help Jeff rig his ASK-14 for a first flight. This plane is a beauty and was on the cover of SSA's Soaring Magazine in 2006.




Assembly went quite well with no real problems. For the summer it will remain assembled and hangared.


Willie and Jeff connecting the ailerons.






Before towing out to the runway Jeff spent some time getting comfortable in the cockpit. Then after a little trial and error with choke/throttle combinations the engine was started. It has a 4 cylinder 2 stroke Hirth engine of 28 HP.


On the runway and ready to go!


Lift-off...


A good omen!


I flew our 150 over from Marcellus so we could do a little air-to-air. Circling outside the thermal as Jeff was in lift, he easily out-climbed my 150 turning in sink or even neutral air.


For Jeff's first flight I kept a good distance away or above. We'll get together again soon for some closer photo work.




Jeff's flight lasted about 40 minutes, rolling to a stop just a short distance from his hangar. This is one sweet little glider. His smile says it all!