The ASH 25... the glider that frowns when it lands...

This is totally not going to do this flight any justice.

As a pilot from the prairie region, I see water and fields. And more more water and more fields.
THIS on the other hand is something totally different.

Flying with Don M in his Ash 25 is like, well, think of whatever car you think is the nicest, fastest, most up to date and gorgeous vehicle you have ever set eyes on... now climb into it and play in it for 2 hours. It was like that, but cooler.

We took off at 2:15 in the afternoon, and holy cow was I in for it. ROCKS. Seriously, they are RIGHT THERE. And you are TRYING to get CLOSER to them. Does that sound wrong to anyone else? I pretty much got to where I thought was too close, then kept pointed straight at them for another ONE TWO THREE and then turned. And apparently I am still a bit shy of them. INSANE.

Don was very fantastic, telling me everything he could think of, making my bucket overflow in about 10 minutes. Heck, the takeoff pretty much filled it!

All in all, this flight was a fantastic intro to this kind of flying, something that the cadets here (who have been doing training all this weekend) take totally for granted.

The race to learn has begun, and every answer provides another 10 questions, and no amount of practice is enough.

Oh, and the frowning comment, the Ash's ailerons point up to get better performance at slower speeds... like landing... making the wing tips push down. You can't see them from the cockpit, and I am guessing that from the front, it is one unhappy looking glider...

Specs on the ASH 25

Span = 25M (82ft. !!!)
Vne = 145kts (?) ( 265km/h )
Glide Ratio = 60:1

(pictures to follow soon)