I ordered a new sailplane last year. It’s a Jonker Sailplanes model JS3 Rapture (link) with is a 15m or 18m racing sailplane. It was first introduced about 5 years ago and has been fairing well in competitions.
The SSA requests that you register your competition number before applying to your sailplane. Most have 2 digit numbers and there are quite a few 3 digit numbers as well. I was fortunate enough to reach out to the holder of “S” just as he was about to give it up. So I think I was lucky to get my initials. One would say “Sierra” on the glider common radio frequency.
I chose a simple paint job starting with the trademark red winglets by adding red trailing edge to the rudder and red tips to the horizontal stabilizer.
It had its first flights in March 2022. I suspect delivery will be in June or July after shipping and getting outfitted by the US distributor. Note that it includes a jet “sustainer” engine. It has fuel for about 17 minutes at full throttle and can be used to extend flight by about 70 miles. In the pictures it is tested on tow and assisting with flybys for the photographer.
It had its first flights in March 2022. Here are some of the pictures they took during the test flights (click on any image to enlarge and launch slide show viewer):
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