Grob G102 Astir

Grob · Germany · first flew 1974 · glider

Grob's rugged 1974 glassfibre club single-seater — the archetypal first solo glider for generations of pilots.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, tapered
E — Engines	1 × none, embedded-mounted
F — Fuselage	Stocky glassfibre single-seater with a deep, rounded fuselage
T — Tail	T-tail

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Unpowered sailplane — no engine
Stocky glassfibre single-seater with a deep, rounded fuselage
Broad-chord 15-metre wing and T-tail

Note the notably deep, rounded fuselage — chunkier than most racing types — with a broad-chord 15-metre wing and T-tail. The rival Schleicher ASK 23 and Pegase are slimmer; the later Grob types have more pointed noses and slimmer fins.

Specifications

The Grob G102 Astir has a length of 6.47 m (21 ft).
It has a wingspan of 15 m (49 ft).
Its maximum speed is 250 km/h (155 mph).
Typical crew: 1.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

The Astir CS was Grob's first own-design sailplane, flying in December 1974 as a simple, strong Club Class machine with a generous wing area and retractable wheel. Its docile manners and tough construction made it a huge seller to clubs across Europe.

Variants

The Astir CS was followed by the CS77 with a slimmer fin and the fixed-gear Club Astir and Standard Astir versions; the two-seat G103 Twin Astir and the flapped G104 Speed Astir grew from the same family.

Where you'll see it

Astirs remain classic early-solo and first-cross-country gliders at BGA clubs throughout the UK, often the first glass single-seater a pilot flies after the two-seat fleet. Cheap to buy and forgiving to land, they also fill Club Class handicapped competition grids.

Related aircraft

AircraftIQ — the aircraft field guide: 4,893 recognition guides, live overhead identification, works offline.