Nine examples are known to have been sold, the buyers including Nikolai Zhukovsky and William Randolph Hearst.

A similar glider, the Sturmflügelapparat ("storm wing apparatus") is preserved in the Technisches Museum in Vienna.

Lilienthal's flights using this glider typically achieved a distance of 250 m (820 ft) starting from the top of the launching mound that he had constructed.

An authentic replica of the Normalsegelapparat made by the Otto Lilienthal Museum has been investigated by the German Aerospace Center in wind tunnel and flight tests.

The results proved that the glider was stable in pitch and roll and can be flown safely at moderate altitudes.