Alexander Schleicher Segelflugzeugbau (sailplane maker) has been crafting high-performance soaring craft since its inception in 1927. Their latest creation, a two-seat, 20-meter (65.6 feet) span motorsegler, the ASG32 El, includes a 25 kilowatt synchronous motor driving a Schleicher-designed 1.55 meter (5 feet) retractable propeller. The motor is a “home help” device, a sustainer motor to keep the ASG 32 El aloft once it is launched by a winch or by being pulled by a towplane. The motor does not allow for self-launching. Its low power, coupled with the airplane’s clean design, does enable a 1.3 meter-per-second (255 feet per minute) rate of climb. The aircraft’s battery is sufficient for 20 minutes of all-out power or 100 kilometers (62 miles) of “sawtooth” flight, short climbs followed by longer glides, even with a full load of two pilots. A single control level raises the motor and propeller into operating position, and when pushed further, turns the motor on and controls the …
