The 'Forty Niner's' 50th Laister Sailplane Products LP-49

摘要

With these words, Jack Laister announced his latest design, the LP-49, "The Forty Niner" to the readers of Soaring magazine. Fifty years ago, in summer of 1966, one of America's most gifted and successful sailplane designers rolled out a thoughtfully engineered sailplane created for everyone. Ten years of planning and two years of construction had produced an attractive, sophisticated, general purpose glider with relatively high-performance at a modest price. Everything about it was intended to produce wide appeal. It was available as a builder's kit or completely assembled from the factory. It would be fully flight tested and have a Type Certificate. Appearance-wise, it was a departure from the ubiquitous round-tailed Schweizers of the 1950s. The jet styled fin and rud- der made it look very much at home with high performing swept fin contemporaries like the SZD-24 Foka, the Pik Vasama, the Sagitta, and the Slingsby Dart. Unlike these, it was not constructed from wood. The LP-49 was created to be quickly and easily assembled on the field, and over its life, require the least possible maintenance.