The LAK-15, sometimes known as the LAK-15 Lietuve, was a high performance
sailplane designed to set records. A one-off, it was built in the late 1980s in
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
, then a member of the
USSR.
Design and development
The LAK-15 was designed as a record breaking sailplane and so had a very large () span wing with an
aspect ratio of 38.4. This was trapezoidal in plan, with 3° of
dihedral. It was set at
mid-fuselage, built around a single,
carbon fibre spar and skinned with three-ply
glass fibre
Glass fiber ( or glass fibre) is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.
Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the inventio ...
/carbon fibre. There were high aspect ratio
ailerons over at least half the span, with two
flaps inboard. Each wing also had a
spoiler and a tank for about of water ballast.
[
The oval section fuselage, built of composites, was deepest ahead of the wing with the pilot in semi-reclining position under a long single-piece canopy. Behind the wing the fuselage was very slender and ended with an integral, trapezoidal profile fin. The LAK-15 had a T-tail, with a trapezoidal-plan tailplane carrying rectangular elevators. The fin also carried a broad, rectangular profile rudder.][
The LAK-15 landed on a retractable monowheel, equipped with a shock absorber and brake, and a fixed tailwheel.][
]
Operational history
The first flight was in 1989 and tests followed, but little more is known. No records were set and there is some evidence to suggest the performance was disappointing. Only one LAK-15 was built.[
]
Specifications
References
{{LAK aircraft
1980s Soviet sailplanes
LAK aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1989
Mid-wing aircraft
T-tail aircraft