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Soaring above the Alps

bernd1151

By bernd1151
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bernd1151 Life Member

bernd1151

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The Schleicher ASW 22BL is a German high performance glider from the late 1980s-early 1990s that has been equipped with an engine. But instead of using an electric or small piston engine, it comes with a small jet engine that sits directly behind the cockpit and folds neatly into the fuselage, when switched off. Instead of running on aviation fuel, it uses regular diesel. The engine itself weighs just 35 lbs and produces some 350 lbs of thrust. Naturally the sailplane can take off on its own; the engine gives it a climb rate of 2.0 m per second and a possible top speed of 220 km/h or 119 knots.

 

Here we are already at 11,000 feet, close to the highest German mountain, the Zugspitze. It’s a superb sunny day in December and you can clearly see the small engine behind the pilot

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Below are the outskirts of Garmisch-Partenkirchen

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Now we head for the Zugspitze

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The “Schneeferner-Haus” sits atop of it

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Being up there offers you an unparalleled view of part of the Alps.

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But of course it cannot rival the view I have. By now I have switched off the engine and enjoy a slow and quiet glide

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It doesn’t get much better than this

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We got company

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Wow, this seems to be a busy place

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Let’s get outta here

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Thanks for viewing

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bernd1151 Life Member

bernd1151

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5 hours ago, stewart1 said:

Fantastic set of shots well done I enjoyed them all regards stewart

Many thanks, Stewart

 

5 hours ago, RichardLouis said:

Thank you for sharing this fantastic set !

Happy that you like them Richard

 

2 hours ago, lifejogger said:

Wow, beautiful shots, beautiful scenery.

Thank you very much, John

 

2 hours ago, Jack Sawyer said:

Amazing shots Bernd, especially the last one!  And what a plane!  A diesel powered 35 lb jet engine that folds away and a glider that can take off under its own power.  What more could a person want in life?

I had exactly the same idea, when I studied the plane, Jack. It must be the cheapest and most probably one of the most relaxing ways to get away from it all; just unwind and enjoy the scenery around you. What could go wrong at 40 knots, pushed by the wind. And if you need to get out of harms way, you just start the engine again

 

27 minutes ago, VH-KDK said:

Excellent set Bernd with some amazing views of the Alps.

Plenty of information about this unusual plane too with it's diesel jet engine!:)

The view was really fantastic and I enjoyed this small trip a lot, Martyn

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bernd1151 Life Member

bernd1151

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2 hours ago, gregmorin said:

Very interesting! Who models the glider for P3DV4.1?

 

Greg

Thank you Greg. This glider and many more you can find here: 

https://www.fsglider.de/p_e.htm

 

The site is in German and English. On its left site you'll find a whole bunch of different gliders from the 1930 to now. And if you scroll a bit down, you'll come to the gliders with jet engine. Quite an interesting collection and the best part is, they are all free. The guy has different sections, one is for FSX and P3D 3.4 (that's what I have) and another one is for v4. When you have a look at the jet engine powered gliders for example, you'll find these two options at the bottom of that page. It's the same with the other gliders too

 

43 minutes ago, andy1252 said:

I tend to agree with you there, Bernd! Gorgeous shots.

Yeah Andy, for a second I was really speechless regarding the beauty that surrounded me and the light was just perfect

 

20 minutes ago, TigerTigerM said:

Superb set Bernd.

The Schleicher is by whom?

& I see you are P3D v3.49 - whose mesh are you using?

Always questions :)

TTM

Thanks a lot TTM, yes I'm still on v3.4 as I have too many older planes that still don't have a v4 installer. Luckily I rarely encounter Ooms, so I'm quite happy with my presnt set-up. Didn't have to tinker with it for months. I switch it on and fly, period. No issues (knock on wood!!)

The mesh is the standard ORBX mesh that came with GES. And re the Schleicher, please have a look what I just mentioned to Andy

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gregmorin Life Member

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1 hour ago, bernd1151 said:

Thank you Greg. This glider and many more you can find here: 

https://www.fsglider.de/p_e.htm

 

The site is in German and English. On its left site you'll find a whole bunch of different gliders from the 1930 to now. And if you scroll a bit down, you'll come to the gliders with jet engine. Quite an interesting collection and the best part is, they are all free. The guy has different sections, one is for FSX and P3D 3.4 (that's what I have) and another one is for v4. When you have a look at the jet engine powered gliders for example, you'll find these two options at the bottom of that page. It's the same with the other gliders too

 

 

 Thanks Bernd!

 

I never flew a glider in real life. i wll have to try it.

 

Greg

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TigerTigerM Life Member

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Bern

Downloaded the P3D v4 Schleicher & tested it in P3D v4.1 out of Eglin AFB.

Got it off the ground with the jet engine & shut it off at 500' & cruised around & landed ok.

Very smooth, very elegant, 'Silent Flight'.

Many thanks for link, hours of fun in prospect!

TTM

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bernd1151 Life Member

bernd1151

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2 hours ago, BradB said:

All RL photo quality shots Bernd , you are on report . :):D:(:o

 

Cheers

 

John

Hahaha, yes, sir. Next time I try to behave :D

 

1 hour ago, gregmorin said:

 Thanks Bernd!

 

I never flew a glider in real life. i wll have to try it.

 

Greg

Greg, I promise you, you'll love it. It's something completely different, but it's worth to try. Now that I have a glider with a jet propulsion system, I'll do a lot more exploring. ORBX Alaska and NZ come to my mind

 

19 minutes ago, TigerTigerM said:

Bern

Downloaded the P3D v4 Schleicher & tested it in P3D v4.1 out of Eglin AFB.

Got it off the ground with the jet engine & shut it off at 500' & cruised around & landed ok.

Very smooth, very elegant, 'Silent Flight'.

Many thanks for link, hours of fun in prospect!

TTM

Great to hear that you like it, TTM. I found this site by accident just a few days ago and I couldn't believe how many gliders were there for us to try. Like you said, also for me hours of fun in prospect

 

12 minutes ago, Bermuda425 said:

You have right of way over those jetliners!

Thanks, Erik, luckily I was at least 10,000 ft below them, I hope ;)

 

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bernd1151

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1 hour ago, Stillwater said:

Fantastische Bilder, sie geben einen tollen Eindruck von den Alpen. Schön auch, dass wir das mesh sowieso alle habe, das beruhigt! Und ich schätze mal, in den nächsten Tagen werden nach Deiner Werbung hier einige Leute glider fliegen....!

:):):)

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bernd1151 Life Member

bernd1151

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50 minutes ago, TigerTigerM said:

PS - Did you 'jet' up to 11,000', or use 'Slew' to get that high?

 

Hi TTM,

 

the nearest airport is actually LOWI, some 55 km or 34 miles. From there you head west and you'll hit the Zugspitze. I was a bit impatient, because I wanted to try the glider at that height. If you don't tell anyone, I'll slew to get that high ;)

 

I think I should now try jetting up there

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TigerTigerM Life Member

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7 minutes ago, bernd1151 said:

 

Hi TTM,

 

the nearest airport is actually LOWI, some 55 km or 34 miles. From there you head west and you'll hit the Zugspitze. I was a bit impatient, because I wanted to try the glider at that height. If you don't tell anyone, I'll slew to get that high ;)

 

I think I should now try jetting up there

:D

I wondered if you'd have enough diesel to get to 11,000'.

Can you tweak P3D v3.4 to create thermals, or are you ridge soaring in the Alps??

TTM

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bernd1151 Life Member

bernd1151

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51 minutes ago, TigerTigerM said:

:D

I wondered if you'd have enough diesel to get to 11,000'.

Can you tweak P3D v3.4 to create thermals, or are you ridge soaring in the Alps??

TTM

Probably not, you might need a tow plane first to get you to let's say 8,000'. If I remember correctly there were a few years ago thermals created for FSX and offered on avsim. We need to google this I think. I'm only for a few days now into gliding after I have found that website. But now I'll study it further. In the Alps I do ridge soaring. ORBX scenery is perfect for this kind of flying.

 

Here is a small youtube video of a South African company that offers jet engines for gliders:

 

 

Have fun

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