The type consolidated Rolladen-Schneider's reputation for well rounded, easy to fly gliders that do well in any conditions, being known for its superb handling, tolerance of piloting technique and environment (turbulence, rain, contamination by insects) as well as for good glide ratios over a wide speed range.

A new profile with higher speed potential was selected, the FX 81-K-130 developed in 1981 by University of Stuttgart aerodynamicist Professor Franz Wortmann.

Albeit having a thickness-to-chord ratio of only 13%, this conservative profile has a remarkably benign behaviour that pays handsomely in terms of ease of handling and tolerance to environmental conditions.

A slightly thicker version of this profile was developed with Prof. Wortmann for the outer wing, assuring healthy stall characteristics without requiring any washout.

A safety cockpit was developed for the -c variant with additional glass, carbon and aramid reinforcements, following crash tests carried out in-house by Wolf Lemke anticipating later TÜV Rheinland crashworthiness recommendations.