View source for DG Flugzeugbau LS10

{{More footnotes|date=December 2012}}
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{{Infobox aircraft
 | name=LS10
 | image=
 | caption=The LS10-a and a [[DG Flugzeugbau DG-800|DG-808B]] at [[Niederöblarn]], [[Austria]]
 | type= [[FAI 18 metre Class|18-metre class]] sailplane
 | national_origin=Germany
 | manufacturer=[[DG Flugzeugbau]]
 | designer=
 | first_flight=6 June 2003
 | introduction=
 | retired=
 | status=Production ended
 | primary_user=
 | number_built=25
 | developed_from= 
 | variants=
}}

The '''Rolladen-Schneider LS10''' is an [[FAI 18 metre Class|18 metre]] sailplane designed in Germany by [[Rolladen-Schneider Flugzeugbau GmbH|Rolladen-Schneider]]. A prototype flew in 2003. 

After Rolladen-Schneider was placed in receivership the sailplane entered production by [[DG Flugzeugbau GmbH|DG Flugzeugbau]]. Certification was not achieved until 2010. Other gliders were designed and manufactured by competitors during this period and were produced in greater numbers.

==Design and development==
By the mid-nineties Rolladen-Schneider, prompted by customers, began designing a successor to the [[Rolladen-Schneider LS6|LS6]]. Development was protracted, as the [[Rolladen-Schneider LS8|LS8]] and [[Rolladen-Schneider LS9|LS9]] projects had higher priority and the company's owner, [[Walter Schneider (aeronautical engineer)|Walter Schneider]], felt the LS6 was still competitive.

The initial design was made under the direction of [[Wolf Lemke]]. Werner Scholz then developed the prototype, the LS10-a. Although early 3-view drawings of the LS10 showed a curved canopy rail similar to that of the [[Schleicher ASW 24]], when the prototype was revealed it had the same straight canopy rail as the LS6 and LS8.

The first flight took place at [[Egelsbach]] on 6 June 2003. This was followed by extensive flight-testing and then evaluation in [[gliding competitions|competitions]]. The prototype won the Hockenheim and Bayreuth contests in 2004 and the German Nationals in Lüsse in 2005.  It took second place in the 2005 [[European Gliding Championships|European Championships]] in Nitra, Slovakia.  The flying qualities were reported in the German aviation magazine, ''[[Aerokurier]]'', to be excellent.

In July 2007, Rick Walters placed first in an LS10 at the International Lilienthal Glide 2007 which is the combined Pre-World for the 30th World Gliding Championships and the 2007 German nationals in the 15M and Open Class, in Lüsse Berlin.

There were two models in production: the ‘turbo’ version called the LS10-st, with the same engine installation as the LS8-st; and the LS10-s with just an engine compartment for [[retrofitting]] the engine.

It achieved certification in January 2010, but it is no longer listed as a current product by DG Flugzeugbau.

===Design of the wing===
The LS10 differs from the LS6 mainly in its wing; its other features are similar. The aerofoil was derived from the FX 81-K-130 profile used in the LS6, having as improvements: higher performance at the low and high ends of the speed range, and very low sensitivity to turbulence, rain and bugs.  The wings have turbulator tape on the underside to prevent laminar separation bubbles. This suggests the profile lacks the clean natural transition of the Wortmann profile of 1981 and is probably more extensively laminar.

The initial design had an elliptical leading edge similar to the [[PZL Bielsko SZD-55|SZD-55-1]]. However the prototype adopted a triple-tapered shape that is easier to build and - most importantly - to repair. The production version had a thicker profile at the [[wing root]], especially modified for the turbulent flow in the vicinity of the fuselage (as with other recent gliders including the [[LAK-17]]a, [[Alexander Schleicher ASW 28|ASW 28]], [[DG Flugzeugbau DG-1000|DG-1000]], [[Schempp-Hirth Discus-2|Discus-2]] and the [[Eta Aircraft eta|eta]]).

The wing was built in four parts with interchangeable wing tips, giving 15 or 18 metre span. The partition line for the wing extensions was located considerably inboard in the prototype, a feature that first appeared in the [[Schempp-Hirth]] [[Schempp-Hirth Ventus 2|Ventus 2c]] and which allows optimal [[planform (aeronautics)|planform]] for both spans and easier rigging. For series production DG-Flugzeugbau gave greater priority to structural and manufacturing considerations and the partition was moved outboard to seven metres from the fuselage axis.

===Other design features===
* The ballast system has six integral tanks in the wings. The outboard tanks are filled first and dumped last for better spanwise load distribution. The tail ballast system incorporates two separate tanks to maintain a favourable C.G. during water dumping. The control of the first tail tank is connected to the four outer wing tanks, the second tail tank operates with to the two inner wing tanks.
* A taller undercarriage increases ground clearance and gives a higher [[angle of attack]] than an LS6, allowing a lower speed for take-off and landing. This increases safety when aerotowing from short runways and when landing out.
* The LS10 has the typical LS full-span flaperons and large, double-blade air brakes, and [[Eugene Hänle|Hänle]]-type automatic control connections.

==Specifications (with 18m wings)==
{{Aircraft specs
|prime units? = met
|crew=One pilot
|capacity=190 kg (418 lb) water ballast
|length m=6.72
|length ft=22
|length in=1
|span m=18.00
|span ft=59
|span in=1
|height m=1.33
|height ft=4
|height in=4
|wing area sqm=11.4
|wing area sqft=123
|aspect ratio=<!-- sailplanes -->28.4
|empty weight kg=305
|empty weight lb=671
|gross weight kg=600
|gross weight lb=1,320
|max speed kmh=280
|max speed mph=175
|glide ratio=<!-- sailplanes --> >50
|sink rate ms=<!-- sailplanes -->0.5
|sink rate ftmin=<!-- sailplanes -->100

}}

==See also==
{{aircontent
<!-- include as many lines are appropriate. additional lines/entries with carriage return. -->
|see also=
|related=<!-- related developments -->
|similar aircraft=<!-- similar or comparable aircraft -->
|lists=<!-- related lists -->
*[[List of gliders]]
}}

==References==
*[http://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/ DG-Flugzeugbau website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051022070211/http://aerokurier.rotor.com/ Aerokurier Aviation Magazine]
*[http://www.ls-flugzeugbau.de/ls10-meistermacher-e.html Marzinzik G, LS10: Meistermacher?, Aerokurier, Aug 2004] 
*[http://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/ls10-historie-e.html DG Flugzeugbau website]

{{Rolladen-Schneider aircraft}}

[[Category:2000s German sailplanes]]
[[Category:Rolladen-Schneider aircraft|LS10]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 2003]]
[[Category:T-tail aircraft]]