Memories are funny things Eric, you forgot the LS6 won 4 world
championships, in 85, 87, 91 and 93 the ASW20 won once in 81 coming second
to a Ventus in 83 at Hobbs. But that is not to decry the 20, at 30 years
old it "IS" best bang for your bucks and still holds its value.
The higher price you will pay for an LS6 reflects the greater desirability
and the later 18m version is the most desirable of all. It stayed in
production until 2003, but in later years the factory was making mostly
LS8s, another desirable glider that will not be cheap.
In todays market recreational pilots want 18m span and an engine if
possible but an 18m LS6 will cost more than a Ventus C turbo of similar
age. However, lets not get into a discussion on the merits or demerits of
engines in gliders.

David

At 02:41 06 February 2011, Eric Greenwell wrote:
On 2/5/2011 2:10 PM, David Smith wrote:
The ASW20 in its day was/is a racing thoroughbred, set up properly and
flown by a experienced pilot was the best glider in its era. But it is
not
tolerant of mishandling, in particular use the flaps wrongly and it
will
bite you and in common with other designs of the time the wing is
biased
to a climb profile.
Later designs used by the LS6, ASW27 and Ventus had much more cruise
biased wings and outclassed the 20. The earlier LS6 A and B were OK
but
the 18m LS6C is the gem, as is the 18m LS8 and command premium price.
As
a
15m ship the ASW27 is still at the top of the tree and should be
included
in this discussion.

The LS6 is same vintage as the ASW 20B/C, at least a generation behind
the ASW 27. The :S6 a fine glider, but it is not a match for the ASW 27.

This pilot, and the other ASW 20 (and B/C) pilots I know, did not find
the LS6 to be superior in contests.

If you can afford an ASW 27, I strongly recommend it over the ASW 20 and

the LS6. It has a far more crash resistant cockpit, all self-connecting
controls, landing flaps, airbrakes that won't suck out, a disc brake on

the main wheel, and wonderful performance. It makes the LS6 and ASW 20
seem very old fashioned.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)