It had flaps, water ballast and retractable landing gear.

The canopy is unique in that it has a catch that enables the front to be raised by 25 mm (1 in) in flight to provide a flow of ventilating air instead of the more conventional small sliding panel used for this purpose.

The American Wil Schuemann pioneered several performance-enhancing modifications to the type, including a re-profiled wing, converting the airfoil to a Wortmann section, various fairings, a new canopy and a reshaped fuselage nose.

Its light wings and easy rigging set a new benchmark.

Handling is generally easy except that it is sensitive to sideslipping and has relatively ineffective airbrakes that make short landings tricky for inexperienced pilots.