what is it?
The Schleicher ASW 17 is a single-seat Open Class sailplane that was built by the German manufacturer Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co and first flew in 1971. It replaced the ASW 12, and was replaced in 1981 by the ASW 22.
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 55 years ago, in 1971.
- Top speed is 1.9× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 20 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
no engine: No engine: it glides on rising air.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1971-07-17
- number built
- 55
- role
- open-class sailplane
- origin
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- makers
- Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co
- engines
- none (glider)
- length
- 7.6 m
- wingspan
- 20 m
- height
- 1.9 m
- max take-off weight
- 610 kg
- top speed
- 250 km/h
- range
- —
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q2238705, Wikipedia: Schleicher ASW 17 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.