It is an early-solo sailplane with docile handling, and was a successor to the Schleicher Ka 8 and ASK 18.

It is also the single-seat counterpart of the two-seat Schleicher ASK 21 with a similar cockpit layout.

It has no flaps, a nose wheel and a fixed main-wheel with a tail-skid or optional tail-wheel.

First flown in October 1983, the initial version allowed for heavy pilots, with a maximum cockpit weight of 140 kg (310 lb), reduced to 120 kg (260 lb) in the later ASK23B version.

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1988–89 [1]General characteristics Performance