Kestrel 17!

Then call me a crane! A couple of weekends ago, I put the thing together by myself in just over an hour. Including a bit of time to check out the dump valve and plug off the lines going to the outer panel bags. Factory trailer and fittings, and a one man rigger for the outer panels.

And I prefer to call is the Fiberglass Overcast, thank you very much.

But I agree with you, Al. The K17s are tres cool. Lots of handles in the cockpit, probably better handling than the 604, and quite a bit lighter. But I bet I could still outrun and outclimb the K17. But if you believe the hanidcap numbers, I will get beat by a K19

Steve Leonard 604 N57L

The K17 handles like a 15M plane climbs like a Libelle and runs like a 20 up to around 80knots. Not bad for a 34year old design.

I think for looks thought the ASW17 takes the pize.

But then I am biased.

Al

You? Biased? Say it ain't so, Al! ASW17's are pretty neat, but I will stick with my 604. Actually more crew friendly, IMHO. Wings level, the tips are above waist high for most people (17s, not so high). Tow hook is right there in the nose, again about waist high (17, on the belly, in front of the gear). And even with the factory trailer, the heaviest thing you lift is the outer panels. And they are about 165 lbs each. Of course, when you crank the entire airplane into the trailer, the 1/8th inch cable turns white hot under load. Yes, there is a hand crank winch in the back of the trailer (ship goes in the front) to pull the whole thing in at one time.

Steve Leonard

so you do need a crane to rig it

There is one for sale in New Zealand. Contact Ron Anderson at

I would not disagree with you Al. As a previous owner of a Kestrel 19 I confirm that it was a very pleasant glider to fly, the only fault was the nice noise the airbrakes made and the fact that this was pretty much all they did. However like you I now fly an ASW17 and even with the problems of rigging the Kestrel comes no where near the performance and handling qualities. I would be suprised if you disagreed with that.

ASW17 is a great glider and again I am biased

The ASW17 is the best handling 20M ship I have ever flown. the Rigging is not really an issue if you have a good trailer and trestles. The performance is great although the standard factory balast bags are way to small, I can only get 25 Gallons in mine. It needs that doubled to make it really scream.

Cant beat the ASW17 for bang for the buck thats for sure.

Al