I've heard the LS-Blei joke many times, and laughed ruefully.
Interestingly, however, while the wings ARE heavy (my entire ASW 24
wing weighs as much as the root end of my LS-3 wing!), they're
comparable to those of the ASW 20B, a much more highly thought of
glider with almost identical performance (when the LS-3 wings are
profiled properly, that is).

Pursuant to the original poster's question, I should have added that
the LS-3 has large, very effective conventional dive brakes and does
not rely on the flaps for glide path control. Also, while the ailerons
are light and very effective when the flaperons are set at 0 to 10+
degrees, the stick is very stiff with the flaperons at -7 degrees (at
least in my old glider). I didn't have much ridge time in my LS-3 but
I recall on more than one occasion yanking the flaps down when
encountering a strong rolling motion so that I could apply countering
aileron. This also had the effect of lifting me off the ridge at the
same time. It was a nice combination but I would have prefered just
being able to roll a little easier. Pilots with more ridge time might
disagree this was necessary but the ailerons were still very stiff. I
presume this was from the geometry of the mixer since much of it was
apparent even on the ground. I hope I'm not making the LS-3 out to be
unpleasant in any way. It was a great glider that I flew happily for
many years.

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"
USA