Back in the day, the rubber-steel bond in the torsional springs at the top of the LS landing gear struts sometimes weakened/failed. The symptom was a fuselage that settled lower and lower to the ground over time. So many of us avoided leaving the glider assembled on the gear unless we intended to fly right away (especially with water ballast loaded).

I wasn't at Cordele that year (thank goodness!). Nor can I recall when I became aware of this problem and replaced my springs. But it's possible that the glider was tied out with the nose on the trailer's fuselage cradle and the wheel retracted. Not sure I'd have done it that way but it's another possibility given the quirky LS gear.

Chip Bearden