LS10 - First Impressions
"Mac" sent us the following flight report
after he had won the Intern. Hockenheim Competition 2004
Dear all,
Thank you very much for the wonderful opportunity for letting me fly LS10 prototype in Hockenheim.
I found that the glider is very good in both climbing and gliding, and particularly in pull-ups. After long glide under cloud streets, I was always impressed how little altitude I had lost;)
I was also very happy to see that the glider retains very nice LS-feeling despite stiff spar designed for 600kgs AUW.
I had only about 13 hours on the glider before the competition, but the glider was so nice to fly, that I adapted fairly quickly.
In the beginning of the competition, I flew most of the time around 525kgs to see if there was a pure advantage in performance without the advantage of extra weight. I think the glider went very well already at 525kgs, and it was a weapon at higher wingloadings!
The glider is very easy to rig/derig, and because the outer wings are longer than LS8-18, it is actually lighter and easier to rig than LS8-18 despite heavier spar.
The cockpit is almost the same as the LS8 (apart from flaps;), and this was very comfortable.
Overall, I was very happy with the glider, it felt just like "another LS-glider, with better performance!"
I hope the production will start soon.
Best regards
Makoto Ichikawa
Report from Holger Back after he has won the first place
during the Intern. Bayreuth Competition 2004
The following mail was sent for internal use only.
But it seems to be quite interesting and so you should have the chance, to read it:
From : Holger Back
To: konstruktion, Wilhelm Dirks
Date : Sunday, June 13, 2004
Re: Experience with the LS-10
As an aid to further development of the LS10, I would like to inform you of my experience with it up to now.
Altogether I have 60 hours in the LS-10 most of which is at the training center for the national team and at the qualifying contest in Bayreuth. So that we are all on board with my initial impression, let me say that I have seldom flown with such enthusiasm as with the LS-10.
The glider makes you a better pilot; it gives you extra self-confidence.
My basis for this opinion is the finely-tuned combination of its characteristics. No matter what the situation or the conditions are, the aircraft is always competitive. Especially in contests, with many different weather conditions, this is an invaluable advantage.
The LS-10 has no weak points and, in the sum of all its characteristics, is better than all of the other models manufactured by competitors.
The especially good things are:
1. Very good feel of thermals. One never has the fear of flying through a thermal without noticing it.
2. Very little degradation of lift due to bugs or rain in my experience with long flights in rain.3. Good climbing ability
4. Good L/D
5. Good handling on winch or aerotow launching. No ballooning, no long roll time. (Probably due to the larger tire. I hope this same effect is noticed in the LS-8!)
Other things I noticed, some of which may have been already mentioned:
1. The current empty weight is competitive. The Ventus-2CX weighs 695 lb. and has less wing area.
2. The turbulator tape is in the most conservative place. Oil-flow pictures could reveal a greater potential here.
3. The control of the flaps is heavy depending on the flap setting. Probably the control rod does not fit completely into the fuselage side of the box. (That might be an installation fault!)
4. The current location of the wing separation is OK, but the fumble-fingered LS-screw-attachment must be replaced with a pin.
5. The wheel brake is not always effective.
Because of the few points I could criticize, I would ask that as little as possible be changed on this series. Otherwise the possibility exists that making it "better" might really make it worse.
Except that the flutter-test can bring a real problem. But the principle, hope, is valid!
Regards, Holger
Well, the little problems Holger mentioned will be solved easily. And then we shall start the development for a steady production.
BTW:
We "tuned" the glider a little after that contest (turbulator tapes, grinding the call sign, polishing and so on). Then we made a new comparison flight with another competing glider:
Obviously the LS10 has become even better!
...as we have seen, when Holger Back has become German Champion 2005 with the LS10 .....
Flight Report by Holger Back - Written in autumn 2006
LS-Feeling of Perfection
In the past 3 years, I have flown about 180 hours in the LS10 D-9710, Serial No.1 - most of these hours during training camps of the national team, and during competitions such as the German Championships and the World Championships.
Even after all this flying, my verdict is the same as on the very first day:
It is not often that I have flown an aircraft with so much enthusiasm as the LS10. The glider is simply inspiring, it strengthens your confidence, and is fun to fly.
I think this is due to the well balanced characteristics of flight. Irrespective of the situation and the conditions, the aircraft is always completely competitive. An invaluable advantage, especially in competitions with varying weather conditions.
The LS10 does not manifest any weaknesses in flight, placing it far ahead of its competitors overall.
In particular, I would like to point out the following:
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Typical ?LS Feeling?
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Very high sensitivity to thermals ? you?re never afraid to fly past the lift
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The wings do not soil easily
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Excellent climbing characteristics
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Good gliding performance
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Very pleasant handling during the launch, on aerotow as well as on the winch, nose does not have the tendency to rotate, not too long a ground run
Good landing behaviour and a short landing run
There are a few criticisms, but that?s exactly what we intend to eliminate before the series production:
1. With some flap settings, the controls are a little heavy because the control surface linkage is not completely in alignment with the receiving funnels in the fuselage, due to an assembly error during the build on the S/N 1. On the second aircraft built, this fault has been rectified, and for the series, the controls will of course always be light and smooth.
2. An old problem on the LS:
The wheel brake should be more efficient and cannot be adjusted accurately enough. In the series models it will therefore be controlled via the air brake lever.
3. Because there isn?t enough difference between the upper and lower aileron deployment positions the stick load is quite high with low wing loading. That is why there will be some modifications in the controls of the series aircraft.
Holger Back
Holger Back also participated in the German Gliding (-Swimming-)Championship 2007 with the first LS10-st solely manufactured by DG. During the championship at one of the rainy days he send the following e-mail:
Hello Friedel,
if I do have to report anything about the weather conditions at the German Gliding Championship, I could not tell much positive about it.
Completely different are my impressions of the "new" LS10-st.
An eye-catcher are the integratedbug-wipers with an aluminum-carbon (visible) design.
In combination with the integrated solar panel, the end plates at the flaperons in aluminum-carbon design as well and the premium cloth interior, the LS10 states itself as a high-tech glider.
Continuing explaining some more technical features of the glider like the installed NOAH or the 2-chamber system of the water tail tank for an optimal placement of the centre of gravity, the low empty weight of only 324kg including the complete propulsion system (fuel tank + engine) as well as all accessories one can recognise from the reaction of the listeners that the effort was worth doing it.
When flying the LS10-st I recognized the smooth-running steering, furthermore that only little counter-steering is necessary during circling and the somewhat more softer wings, besides this the "new" is still the "old" - pure LS feeling!
Due to the governing weather conditions I could also test the propulsion system in detail (I guess I have more engine duration than gliding time!). However, the turbo always started immediately and the entire system worked trouble-free.
Only the tight handling of the water controls or the different filling levels of the water tail tank gave rise for some criticism, but I already handed it to the construction team. These aspects are already considered for the upcoming LS10, works No. 4.
Cheers Holger
Translation: Holger Kuhn
Both LS10 pilots flying in that competition with a LS10 ended with the places 4 and 5.
Mail from John Bojack, who just got a new LS10
From: John Bojack
Sent: Sunday, February 08, 2009 11:17 PM
To: Ed Hollestelle
Subject: Flew the LS10 on Sunday
Got 3:03 on the first flight! 18m, dry. Flew with an ASW27 and Ventus2bx. Hard to be impartial, of course, but I thought it was much better performing than my old '6. Seems to have more "lift". Thermalled slower. Felt a lot like the '6 in many ways, though. All in all, a real joy to fly.
Initial impression of better high speed performance in the run. Was dominant over 6i all day.....as opposed to the '6 where it wasn't so.
Best way to describe it, right now.,
Initial impression was of heavier stick forces compared to the '6. Seemed to loosen up some after a couple of hours.
Very quiet..... much quieter than the '6 regarding sound of air rushing out or along the wing root/canopy rail. Mandl extractor doing it's job? Or less air leaking out the canopy? Don't know. Less whispering behind my head. Also, don't hear the whispering from the tail, but probably because it's much more closed off in the 10. Even at high speed, it's just as quiet. Had it up to 150 knots for a pass before landing. Ran it at 120 knots for several runs between clouds (we were getting to 5 thousand MSL, sometimes a little higher, and had 4 on the averager a lot).
Can't wait to fly it again.
LX 8000 vario is nice. Screen a little small.....compared to the pda. I sit waaaay back from the panel, and I'm old. Also, airspace was really clogging up the screen. Need to adjust that!
J4
Etienne d´Ursel:
Dear Mister Halbe,
As promised, here are a few photos of the first flight. I take advantage of the opportunity to tell you that in my view the shortcomings of the prototype are completely solved, it actually only took 50 meters in the air to discover that the ailerons are perfect now.
The big wheel, (and the wingspan?) make take-off feel safer, that means you do not have that moment when you have to pull and you might think it is too early, it just takes off when it is ready. Also you feel no need to fiddle with going from negative flaps to positive, you have more than enough ailerons control in +1.
The wheel takes a bit more force to retract than on the LS6, but it helps to have the lever going the “right way”. Indeed when the most force is needed you have your arm almost extended and not pulled back on your side. (I flew the Ventus for a month last year…)
The flaps control is ideally placed, what is more natural than to have your hand palm down resting on your lap. Funny is that looking into the cockpit for the first time you wonder about the size of the trim button, indeed a 2,5cm pin with a radius of 4mm seems strange. Actually you discover that you never have to move it by more than half a centimeter and than it has the right size to be moved by the tip of you mid-finger.
I read about the glider telling you a lot about the air mass, I can only tell you that it is true but there is a big difference between reading it and experiencing it. Close to the mountain the glider feels very secure and lets you look around, you feel a little bit like those eagles that you see moving their heads independently of the rest of the body. I almost wished the conditions were not as good as to take full advantage of it.
I will not tell you much about the motor, I just tried it twice for a few minutes, I actually hate to have this thing moving behind me, and so I am glad that the DEI is so easy to use.
Last, the glider attracted a lot of attention the “public” was unanimous over the quality of the build and the finish.
Hopefully you will be able to make it to Saint Auban this summer.
Best regards
Etienne d´Ursel
Technical Data of the LS10
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