Studies had long shown that the ideal wing for minimizing induced drag should be an elliptic planform.

There is a 6.5 L (1.7 US gal; 1.4 imp gal) water ballast tank in the fin for trimming purposes when the main wing mounted ballast tanks are in use (184 L combined) for a maximum wing-loading of 50 kg/m2 (10 lb/sq ft) The Discus dominated standard class sailplane racing throughout the 1980s, winning six World Gliding Championships in a row from 1985 to 1995.

With no bad manners, powerful airbrakes and a low landing speed, the Discus is popular with clubs.

About 12 per year are built under license by Schempp-Hirth Vyroba in the Czech Republic as the Discus CS.

Some models are fitted with small sustaining engines (turbos) and are designated Discus T. Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1988-89 [2]General characteristics Performance