noel.wade wrote:
The LS-3 is around $25k, has some of the best performance numbers, and
is reportedly very good in climb. However, it has NO automatic
hookups and the wings are a fair bit heavier to handle than the other
two gliders. It has the highest min-sink by a small margin.
Ergonomics are supposedly good (other than the flap & airbrake handles
having to be operated together); but I've never seen one in person.
The high weight and lack of automatic hookups bug me, but the price-
performance point is nice.

One data point: LS-3 wings are heavy because the flaperon design
required a heavy lead mass balance. LS-3a segmented flap/ailerons do
not require the mass balance, so each wing is around 30 to 50 lbs lighter...

Marc