The Rolladen-Schneider LS2 is a 15-metre
span single seat
glider prototype with
trailing-edge flaps
A flap is a high-lift device used to reduce the stalling speed of an aircraft wing at a given weight. Flaps are usually mounted on the wing trailing edges of a fixed-wing aircraft. Flaps are used to reduce the take-off distance and the landin ...
, designed and built by
Rolladen-Schneider Flugzeugbau GmbH
Rolladen-Schneider was a major glider manufacturer. The company originally made rolling doors and shutters and was run by Willi and Walter Schneider based in Egelsbach near Frankfurt, Germany. Walter was a keen glider pilot and recruited a sailpl ...
c. 1973.
The LS2 was designed by
Wolf Lemke and
Walter Schneider in response to changes in the
Standard Class rules. Only one example was built.
First flown in 1973, it won the German Championships that year.
Helmut Reichmann competing in the LS2 won the 14th World championships in
Waikerie
Waikerie ( ) is a rural town in the Riverland region of South Australia on the south bank of the Murray River. At the , Waikerie had a population of 2,684. The Sturt Highway passes to the south of the town at the top of the cliffs. There is a ca ...
, Australia in 1974.
Design
The design was nevertheless unsatisfactory. The flaps occupied most of the trailing edge of the wing, being intended both as a means to control speed and improve climb rates in narrow
thermals
A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...
. Class rules did not allow these surfaces to be coupled to the ailerons. The resultant sluggish roll rate from the very short
ailerons
An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...
led to poor and unsafe flying characteristics. Thrice World Champion
Helmut Reichmann reportedly said the performance advantages were not worth the extra pilot workload.
The LS2 highlighted inconsistencies in the rules that promoted unwise design trends, with trade-offs having to be made by designers between competitiveness and safety. Many observers also felt that trailing-edge flaps were against the spirit of the Standard Class, an issue that affected other types such as the
PIK-20,
Libelle and
Schreder HP-8.
The
International Gliding Commission voted in a new set of rules in 1974, prohibiting any lift-enhancing devices in the Standard Class and creating the
15 metre Class where these were allowed without any restriction.
Specifications
See also
References
LS-Flugzeugbau website*Simons M, Segelflugzeuge 1965-2000, Equip, 2004
Sailplane Directory
{{Rolladen-Schneider aircraft
Rolladen-Schneider aircraft
1970s German sailplanes
Aircraft first flown in 1973
T-tail aircraft
Shoulder-wing aircraft