Laister LP-15 Nugget
{{Short description|American glider}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2022}}
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
| name=LP-15 Nugget | image=File:Laister LP-15 Nugget N9VN.jpg | caption= }}{{Infobox aircraft type | type=Glider | national origin=United States | manufacturer=Laister Sailplanes | designer=Jack and Bill Laister | first flight=1971 | introduced= | retired= | status=Production completed | primary user= | more users= | produced= | number built=15 | developed from= | variants with their own articles= }} |
The Laister LP-15 Nugget is an American single-seat, high-wing glider designed by Jack and Bill Laister for the FAI Standard Class.{{Cite web|url = http://www.sailplanedirectory.com/PlaneDetails.cfm?PlaneID=249|title = Nugget LP-15 Laister|accessdate = 28 March 2011|last = Activate Media|authorlink = |year = 2006|archive-url = https://archive.today/20130201234706/http://www.sailplanedirectory.com/PlaneDetails.cfm?PlaneID=249|archive-date = 1 February 2013|url-status = dead}}Said, Bob: 1983 Sailplane Directory, Soaring Magazine, page 14. Soaring Society of America, November 1983. USPS 499-920 It first flew in 1971.{{Cite web |title=J2mcL Planeurs - Fiche planeur n° |url=https://www.j2mcl-planeurs.net/dbj2mcl/planeurs-machines/planeur-fiche_0int.php?code=787 |access-date=2022-05-21 |website=www.j2mcl-planeurs.net}}
Design and development
Designed in the 1970s, the Nugget was intended to compete with the new European fiberglass gliders that were beginning to appear, and as such incorporated mixed construction methods. The fuselage is built with a fiberglass cockpit area, with the fuselage aft of the wing trailing edge made from aluminum. The wing is of Chem-weld bonded aluminum construction, the bonding replacing rivets in an attempt to get a surface as smooth and wave-free as fiberglass. The wing employs a Wortmann FX 67 170/150 airfoil and has flaps. The long span flaps serve both as speed-range drag reducing camber changing devices and full deflection high-lift/high-drag landing flaps. The aircraft can carry up to {{convert|185|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}} of water ballast in a center fuselage tank, located at the center of gravity. The landing gear is a retractible monowheel.
Even though several sources report that the LP-15 was type certified, no type certificate was ever filed for it and all aircraft are registered as Experimental-Racing, Experimental-Exhibition or Experimental-Amateur-built. The LP in the designation indicates Laister Products and the model number is the wingspan in metres.{{Cite web|url = http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/AcftRef_Results.aspx?Mfrtxt=&Modeltxt=LP-15&PageNo=1|title = Make / Model Inquiry Results|accessdate = 2 January 2016|last = Federal Aviation Administration|authorlink = |date=2 January 2016}}{{Cite web|url = http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgMakeModel.nsf/MainFrame?OpenFrameSet|title = Type Certificate Data Sheet Search|accessdate = 28 March 2011|last = Federal Aviation Administration|authorlink = |date = March 2011|archive-date = October 16, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151016140121/http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgMakeModel.nsf/MainFrame?OpenFrameSet|url-status = dead}}
Operational history
Aircraft on display
- National Soaring Museum - 1{{cite web|url=http://www.soaringmuseum.org/collection.html |title=Sailplanes in Our Collection |accessdate=26 February 2011 |last=National Soaring Museum |year=2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516142717/http://www.soaringmuseum.org/collection.html |archivedate=16 May 2011 }}
Specifications (LP-15)
File:Laister LP-15 Nugget N9VN 02.jpg
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Sailplane Directory and Soaring
|prime units?=imp
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|crew=one
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|span m=15.0
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|wing area sqm=
|wing area sqft=109
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=22.2:1
|airfoil=Wortmann FX 67 170/150
|empty weight kg=
|empty weight lb=425
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=
|gross weight lb=900
|gross weight note=including 185 lb (84 kg) of water ballast
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|glide ratio=36.5:1 at 58 mph (93 km/h)
|sink rate ms=
|sink rate ftmin=130
|sink rate note=at 49 mph (79 km/h)
|lift to drag=
|wing loading kg/m2=
|wing loading lb/sqft=8.25
|wing loading note=with full water ballast
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See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.williammaloney.com/Aviation/NationalSoaringMuseum/LaisterLP15Nugget/index.htm Photos of the LP-15 in the National Soaring Museum]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhy-zCXI8R8 Video of an LP-15 Nugget in soaring flight]
{{Laister aircraft}}