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A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
The ASK 21 has a glass-fibre structure, long wings, a T-tail and tandem seats for an instructor and student. The design also supports cross-country and aerobatic instruction within its operating limits.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗A birthday solo after a lunch break resets the day
Elliott had spent months preparing for his first solo, including winter practice in a cockpit simulator and an intensive flying course. When his birthday arrived, nerves unsettled his early circuits. A lunch break with his father gave him a chance to relax before returning to the airfield for another attempt. Three better flights followed.
EAA · May 2017. ASK21 first solo at Williams Soaring Center on his fourteenth birthday; winter simulator sessions preceded the flying course.
EAA · Read more ↗Soaring instruments and launch methods
Laminar's desktop manual describes aerotow and winch launches for the ASK 21, the total-energy variometer and speedbrake use. The manual describes the instruments and launch options included in X-Plane.
Schleicher ASK 21 · Laminar Research · X-Plane 12 / X-Plane 11
Laminar Research · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube XPlaneOfficial · 25 min ·
ASK21 Glider Tutorial – X-Plane 12
Laminar Research's tutorial introduces glider flying with the X-Plane 12 ASK21.
Simulator · Laminar Research ASK21 · X-Plane 12
Watch on YouTube ↗
YouTube Glider Airstrip · 2 min ·
ASK 21 Glider Training Flight Cockpit View | Aerotow Under Cumulus Clouds
A cockpit view of a two-seat ASK21 training aerotow.
Real aircraft · Schleicher ASK 21
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Schleicher ASK 21
The ASK 21 has a glass-fibre structure, long wings, a T-tail and tandem seats for an instructor and student. The design also supports cross-country and aerobatic instruction within its operating limits.
X-Plane documents aerotow and winch launching for its implementation, together with instruments including the total-energy variometer.
Schleicher ASK 21
Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
Schleicher ASK 21 — unpowered glider; ICAO special designator
ICAO — special designators ↗Checked 2026-09-14History & design
Development milestones
Designer: Rudolf Kaiser
First flight: February 1979
Wikipedia contributors · Schleicher ASK 21 ↗Schleicher ASK 21 · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1372986619
Systems & details
Linked sticks and spring trim
Schleicher's maintenance pages show the front and rear sticks connected mechanically, with rods and bellcranks transmitting elevator movement. The trim system uses two levers, a connecting rod and two springs. Its friction arrangement holds the selected trim position, while a separate indicator shows that setting. The accompanying drawing makes the relationship between both seats' sticks and trim levers visible. These are details of the manufacturer's documented mechanical arrangement, without assuming how a simulator or force-feedback device reproduces it.
Pilot accounts
A birthday solo after a lunch break resets the day
Elliott had spent months preparing for his first solo, including winter practice in a cockpit simulator and an intensive flying course. When his birthday arrived, nerves unsettled his early circuits. A lunch break with his father gave him a chance to relax before returning to the airfield for another attempt.
Three better flights followed. Expecting another check, he instead found his instructor closing the rear canopy and sending him off alone. In the air, attention to traffic and his position replaced the anticipation. Back on the ground, celebration included the club’s water and shirt traditions. The story makes the short flight significant through the preparation, family support and sudden change from pupil to solo pilot.
EAA · May 2017. ASK21 first solo at Williams Soaring Center on his fourteenth birthday; winter simulator sessions preceded the flying course.
Read the full account · EAA ↗His parents arrive just in time for a long-awaited solo
Moving between countries, study and work had repeatedly interrupted Pinder’s progress towards solo flight. A friendly conversation at an airshow eventually led him to EZAC, where members welcomed him despite his limited Dutch. Regular flying and the club’s camps finally gave him the continuity he had been missing.
During a July camp, instructor David Lindberg asked whether he was ready to go alone. At almost that moment, his parents arrived by chance on a journey through the area. A successful landing brought an enormous shout of satisfaction after a wait stretching back twenty-four years. The club’s ceremonial tyre and a second solo flight completed an afternoon made memorable by the people there to share it.
Personal account published February 2020. July 2018 ASK21 solo at EZAC, Axel; earlier scholarship flights were in Puchacz gliders.
Read the full account · Mike Pinder ↗An evening checkout between work and gathering rain
Finishing work early gave Kasprzyk a chance to hurry from his hotel to Booker before dusk and building clouds ended the flying. David Byass agreed to a checkout in the ASK21. Behind the towplane, Kasprzyk found it quiet and well balanced, with a reassuringly smooth climb despite the rutted grass below.
Rain and weakening lift limited the outing, but the surroundings supplied another kind of interest: a Blériot on the field and Concorde approaching Heathrow. Byass flew Concordes for work, giving the two pilots plenty to discuss alongside Kasprzyk’s fighter experience. After an easy return, the airfield pub provided shelter from the arriving downpour and a place to continue their conversation.
FlightLog · May 1999. First ASK21 flight at Booker with instructor David Byass; other gliders and visits in the travel account are separate.
Read the full account · Stan Kasprzyk FlightLog ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →X-Plane 12Schleicher ASK 21
Laminar Research · Released
Schleicher ASK 21
Laminar Research · Released
X-Plane 11Schleicher ASK 21
Laminar Research · Released
Schleicher ASK 21
Laminar Research · Released
MSFS 2020ASK 21
f7 Simulations · Released
ASK 21
f7 Simulations · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 8.35 m (27 ft 5 in) |
| Wingspan | 17 m (55 ft 9 in) |
| Height | 1.55 m (5 ft 1 in) |
| Wing area | 17.95 m² (193.2 sq ft) |
| Empty weight | 360 kg (794 lb) |
| Max takeoff weight | 600 kg (1,323 lb) |
| Stall speed | 65 km/h (40 mph, 35 kn) |
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Simulator documentation
Soaring instruments and launch methodsSchleicher ASK 21 · Laminar Research · X-Plane 12 / X-Plane 11
Laminar's desktop manual describes aerotow and winch launches for the ASK 21, the total-energy variometer and speedbrake use. The manual describes the instruments and launch options included in X-Plane.
XP12 desktop manual; XP11 counterpart separately archived · Flying Special Situations / Flying Gliders
Laminar Research · Read the source ↗Pilot account
A birthday solo after a lunch break resets the dayEAA · May 2017. ASK21 first solo at Williams Soaring Center on his fourteenth birthday; winter simulator sessions preceded the flying course.
Elliott had spent months preparing for his first solo, including winter practice in a cockpit simulator and an intensive flying course. When his birthday arrived, nerves unsettled his early circuits. A lunch break with his father gave him a chance to relax before returning to the airfield for another attempt. Three better flights followed. Expecting another check, he instead found his instructor closing the rear canopy and sending him off alone.
Ryan Elliott
EAA · Read the source ↗His parents arrive just in time for a long-awaited soloPersonal account published February 2020. July 2018 ASK21 solo at EZAC, Axel; earlier scholarship flights were in Puchacz gliders.
Moving between countries, study and work had repeatedly interrupted Pinder’s progress towards solo flight. A friendly conversation at an airshow eventually led him to EZAC, where members welcomed him despite his limited Dutch. Regular flying and the club’s camps finally gave him the continuity he had been missing. During a July camp, instructor David Lindberg asked whether he was ready to go alone. At almost that moment, his parents arrived by chance on a journey through the area.
Mike Pinder
Mike Pinder · Read the source ↗Developer documentation
ASK 21 — product listingASK 21 · MSFS 2020
Product listing captured 2026-09-30; edition scope from the reviewed catalogue
iniBuilds Store · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
X-Plane 12 Desktop ManualLaminar Research X-Plane aircraft and avionics manualsLaminar Research X-Plane 11 Desktop ManualLaminar ResearchAircraft background
Schleicher ASK 21Wikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1372986619 · retrieved 2026-09-12Manufacturer documentation
ASK21 continued airworthiness trim system bulletinAlexander Schleicher · Schleicher manual amendment pages, TN 11, 20 December 1983; stick/trim drawing dated 9 March 1983Type designator
ICAO — special designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Glider and motorglider categories; checked 2026-09-14Product
f7 Simulations ASK 21 for MSFS-2020 – iniBuilds StoreiniBuilds Store · Product listing captured 2026-09-30; edition scope from the reviewed catalogueBuilt-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 2 profile choices
f7 Simulations Schleicher ASK 21
f7 Simulations · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2020
f7 Simulations Schleicher ASK 21: The profile supplies the glider’s selected stick balance.
Schleicher ASK 21
Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Review pending
X-Plane 12 · X-Plane 11
Schleicher ASK 21: The profile supplies the glider’s selected stick balance.
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