The ASA is the place for you 

The Auxiliary-powered Sailplane Association Inc. was founded in 1988 as a non-profit organization to encourage the design, development and safe use of motorgliders, self-launching and sustainer engine sailplanes.

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The Opportunity

The way we fly gliders is changing. Tows are becoming harder to find and more expensive. Motor glider provide a quiet, convenient and efficient way to get into the air.
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Knowledge

The ASA is the leading group providing information and knowledge about motor gliders.
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Events/Contests

Want to fly at world renowned sites. Want to experience the 'big air' out west or the ridges of the east. The ASA organizes encampments for you.

ASA Featured Articles

ASH26e Checklist
Dan Malone uses a well structured checklist for the ASH26e. This covers various stages of operation and is suitable for
Canopy Strut Replacement Tool
The gas strut that holds the canopy open will fail. At Parowan 2024 7DR presented a special tool to replace it. Anoth
Checklist for LX9000
The LX9000 series of instruments allows you to configure an electronic checklist for the various phases of flight.  He
How Low Can You Start Your Motor
Motor-glider pilots must manage safety margins during air-starts due to the unreliability of motor-glider engines. The d
How to charge an AS 34 Me
How to charge an AS 34 Me How to go about charging your electric glider By Albert Tuertscher Charger attached to th
Self-Launching in the U.S. West
Electric self-launching gliders face challenges in the West due to high temperatures and long launch times, requiring
SSA 2024 Knoxville Convention Report
The bi-annual SSA convention was held in Knoxville, TN in October 2024. The ASA President, Tom Seim, gives his observa

What We Do

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Mission Statement

The Auxiliary-powered Sailplane Association Inc. was founded in 1988 as a non-profit organization to encourage the design, development and safe use of motorgliders, self-launching and sustainer engine sailplanes.

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Self-Launch Opportunity

 The ability to self-launch gives you the opportunity to launch when you are ready, thereby avoiding the wait for a tow plane and the delay caused by all those other people in front of you

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Retrieve Avoidance

Using the motor to avoid landing out.. Most people like the idea, though some don't, believing the chance of landing out is what defines the sport.

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Convenience & Frequency

Self-launch and self-retrieve are important, but these abilities don't really allow a change in the way you soar, but allow you to do it more conveniently and more often

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Stretch Your Goals

One member reports "One day in lonia Michigan. the cu started early, but only to a two thousand feet AGL base. None of the locals launched when I did, preferring to wait for the bases to rise. The lift was less than one knot, but there seemed to be no sink, and every cloud worked. Gently dolphining from one puffy to puffy, I stayed between 1500' and 2000' AGL...  

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... Continued

...as I covered about 70 miles in the first two hours.How different from our usual flying! I flew a four hour, 150 mile cross- country in these odd conditions, and never required the motor. Without it, I would have flown locally, but not gone cross-country. The locals rever did fly because the bases didn't rise until too late in the day"