“Sometimes I would like to sit in Front”
Holger Weitzel flies ASG 32 Mi and ASH 31 Mi
People who know Holger Weitzel are aware that he is significantly taller (2.06m or 6’ 9”) than average. However, that doesn’t prevent him from enjoying his dearest hobby, ideally over the whole year.
During the summer, the passionate aero photographer makes long cross-country flights with his ASH 31 Mi. As with his previous sailplane, an ASH 26 E, he has made a number of cockpit modifications so that he can make longer flights in comfort.
Landing on runway 17 in Rothenburg/Oberlausitz with the 31
In winter back to Namibia again
Now he has again chartered an ASG 32 Mi in Namibia with which he flew several 1000 km flights last year. A Mertens parachute (square package which can be located remotely) is mounted on top of the rear instrument support which allows him to sit in the front cockpit without any modifications. He has sent us the following account:
The ASG 32 does not just fly beautifully but it also provides tall pilots with the opportunity to fly in the front cockpit. I was able to make several flights in Namibia in the front seat of Michael Hörman’s brand new ASG 32 Mi. Many thanks, Michael! It was a great adventure to fly over 1000 km in “FM”. Normally I fly an ASH 31 Mi which is specially modified for tall pilots. The two sailplanes have almost the same feel, but the ASG 32 Mi is even wider in the shoulder area. The ground handling is the same as for the 21m single seater and in the air the 32 climbs very well. Once you start flying straight, it really goes!
Holger has recently written a very nice article, easily understandable even by non-pilots, about some of his flights in Germany which we would like to share with our website readers:
A 3 Day Soaring Safari in August 2019
1500 km by Sailplane across Germany