AW113 series with Winkhaus hardware

A product page that lists the AW113 series with Winkhaus hardware tells you two things and hides the rest. It tells you the window opens inward as a tilt-turn, and it tells you the operating hardware is German Winkhaus. What it does not print is the longer, more useful story: what that hardware actually does once the window is installed, and which numbers you still have to ask for before you can sign a purchase order.

This article is written for the buyer who has seen the short spec line and wants the part that makes the line true. It is also honest about the gaps, because the gaps are where most window orders go wrong.

Why a published feature list is only half the promise

The problem with a one-line feature list is not that it lies. It is that every line is a conditional promise, and the condition is not printed next to it. "Inward-opening tilt-turn" is true only if the hardware can hold the sash in two distinct positions and seal it in both. "Winkhaus hardware" is true only if you know which Winkhaus platform and what it is rated to do. Below is the AW113 line as ALPES publishes it, paired with the condition that makes each line real.

What Winkhaus activPilot actually does inside the AW113

A tilt-turn window lives or dies by one component: the gearbox and striker set that lets a single handle control two completely different openings. Winkhaus activPilot is the modular fitting platform ALPES fits to its inward-opening tilt-turn family, and its published behaviour is worth knowing before you compare windows on paper.

Two positions, one handle

Turn the handle to the first stop and the top of the sash swings inward a few centimetres while the bottom stays put. That is the tilt position: a controlled gap for background ventilation that a child or rain cannot turn into an open window. Turn the handle ninety degrees more and the whole sash swings inward on its hinges, hinged on the side, for full cleaning access and a clear escape opening. The same hardware that most european tilt and turn window systems use is what makes that second position safe rather than just possible.

Mushroom-head locking is what makes it secure

When you close an activPilot tilt-turn, octagonal mushroom-head locking cams rotate and hook behind striker plates set into the frame. This is a mechanical interlock around the whole perimeter, not a single latch. Winkhaus publishes the activPilot platform as certified to QM 328 (the ift Rosenheim quality program), and the turn-tilt fittings undergo repeated cycle and forced-entry testing. Depending on the variant and the striker set, the configuration can reach resistance classes up to RC2 or RC3. The inward-opening direction helps too: there is no external sash face to pry, because the moving leaf sits inside the room.

The seal is a state, not a part

A common mistake is to treat "weather sealed" as a sticker on the frame. On a tilt-turn it is a state the hardware creates: the gearbox pulls the sash against a continuous perimeter gasket and holds it there. If the contact pressure is right, you get an even compression line and low air leakage. If it is wrong, you get a draught at one corner. That is why activPilot includes adjustable contact pressure: turning an octagonal locking bolt changes how hard each cam presses, and the fitting also allows height and lateral adjustment. A window that was sealed on the day it shipped can drift as the building settles or the season changes, and the adjustment is what lets a technician restore it without replacing parts.

Service life and what "tested" means

Winkhaus publishes activPilot fittings tested to about 20,000 switching cycles under test class H3, and the activPilot Concept variant is rated for large, heavy sashes up to roughly 130 to 150 kilograms. Those are laboratory cycle numbers on the fitting, not a promise of how many years your window will last in a coastal villa. Treat them as evidence the hardware is built for repeated daily use, not as a lifespan guarantee. The useful takeaway for a buyer is simpler: specify the sash weight honestly, because the fitting is chosen for that weight, and changing the glass later can push the sash past what the chosen variant was rated for.

Reading the AW113 numbers without inventing them

The catalog shows the AW113 as model 24021 with a sample unit size of about 67.5 by 35.5 centimetres wide by 66.5 centimetres high. That is a display size, not a maximum. ALPES does not publish, for this series, the frame wall width, the glass sash thickness, or a thermal K value in the same way it does for sibling series. Rather than guess, the honest move is to ask. The table below splits what is published from what you must request, and why the gap exists.

Note: the K value of 1.3 that appears on the AW90 passive series is a figure for that series and its tested configuration. It is not automatically the AW113 number. Do not carry a sibling series figure onto the AW113 without a specimen tested for your exact glass and size.

When the AW113 inward-opening format is the right answer

• You need to clean the outer glass from inside the room, common in upper floors with no safe external access.
• You want secure background ventilation without leaving the window open to rain or a child.
• Your code or brief treats the window as a clear escape opening, because the turn position gives a full clear height opening.
• You prefer the sash to stay inside the wall plane, so nothing projects outward into a balcony or walkway.

When to pick a different ALPES format instead

• If the opening must not take indoor floor space when open, an outward casement or a sliding format is the straighter choice.
• If you need a very wide clear opening for a terrace, a sliding door system is the better tool than a tilt-turn sash.
• If the wall is a load-bearing reveal with no room for an inward swing arc, the inward tilt-turn will fight the room layout.

For a german tilt and turn windows specification, the inward-opening ALPES family is a direct match; the question is only which series and which glass build-up, and those are project questions, not catalog defaults.

What to write into the request for quotation

The table below turns the gaps above into questions. The right-hand column is the answer that sounds reasonable but carries no information, so you can spot it.

Frequently asked questions

Is the AW113 a passive window? Not by the published line. The passive K value of 1.3 belongs to the AW90 series. Ask ALPES for the AW113 thermal value with your glass configuration rather than assuming the passive figure carries over.

Can the sash be cleaned from outside? No. Inward tilt-turn cleans the outer face from inside the room. If you need external access, that points to a different opening type.

Does Winkhaus mean the window is burglar proof? The activPilot platform supports perimeter mushroom-head locking and can reach RC2 or RC3 with the right striker set. Write the resistance class into the order; do not assume it.

What decides the maximum sash size? The assumed glass thickness and weight, and the activPilot variant rating. Heavier glass lowers the maximum panel, so specify glass and size together.

Who should do the first adjustment? The installer, at fit-out, using the octagonal bolt for contact pressure and the height and lateral screws. This is what turns "sealed on paper" into "sealed in the wall".

Where do I get the real numbers? From a tilt and turn window company that returns a submittal drawing with your mm dimensions, the activPilot variant, the glass rebate, and a thermal value for your build-up. The short catalog line is the start, not the answer.

Short checklist before you order

• Confirm inward tilt-turn is the right format for the room and the reveal.
• Get the AW113 frame width and glass rebate in millimetres.
• Fix the activPilot variant and sash weight rating to your glass.
• Write the resistance class and the thermal value for your build-up into the order.
• Name who does the first contact-pressure adjustment at installation.

This article describes the Winkhaus activPilot platform from Winkhaus published material and the ALPES tilt-turn family from the ALPES catalog. AW113 series-specific figures not published by ALPES should be requested in writing with your project dimensions and glass build-up.