The Laister LP-15 Nugget is an American single-seat, high-wing

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

Soaring Magazine ''SOARING'' is a magazine published monthly as a membership benefit of the Soaring Society of America. It was first published in 1937. The headquarters is in Hobbs, New Mexico. The magazine's article topics include safety issues and accounts of ind ...

'', page 14. Soaring Society of America, November 1983. USPS 499-920 It first flew in 1971.

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 An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the cross-sectional shape of an object whose motion through a gas is capable of generating significant lift, such as a wing, a sail, or the blades of propeller, rotor, or turbine. ...

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 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.

Operational history

As of January 2016 there were still 9 LP-15 Nuggets registered in the USA.

Aircraft on display

* National Soaring Museum - 1

Specifications (LP-15)

References

External links