Interview with Mt Philipp Medicus NOVA (R&D)








Ziad: 1- Why are you aiming to release the Phantom 2? And what level of pilots it’s targeted for?

Philipp: There are many happy Phantom pilots, who like the performance and the handling behavior of the glider.

That's why we never really considered making the Phantom a "one-time thing".


The development isn't finished, but the target group is identical to the Phantom 


We think, that that's what made it so successful: It's easy to fly.


2- Can you describe the intended performance in active air toward the upper classes?


It has to be competitive against current EN-C gliders. (Except top speed, probably)





3- Are you intending to release a D glider in the next 6 months? or earlier?


No.




4- I have flown the Mentor 6 normal cloth and the light version in the same size. I felt more connected via the light cloth. It seems different and more enjoyable…


How can that difference in feel?


I think the lighter cloth can affect the feeling in three ways:


1.) The reduced mass itself: The mass reduction is not more than around 10%, because you have to add the air mass inside the glider. But that should be enough to be noticeable in terms of less (mass-)damping.


2.) The light cloth will not only differ in weight but also in stiffness. That will unavoidably result in a certain change in the flying characteristics.


3.) A third effect is subjective: You can hear certain deformations better on many lightweight materials, than on many heavier cloths. So even if two wings do exactly the same, you will get a very different (acoustic) feedback from the two gliders.





5- And new tandem coming soon? and will it aim more for performance as the new releases?


Yes - we are working on a new tandem wing. It's going to be rather light, with good XC-potential. It won't be a direct successor of the Bion2 therefore.


We haven't started working on the Bion3 yet.


6-Will NOVA invest more in harnesses in the future?


Yes - certainly!








7- I always wondered about NOVA forethought in the release of a 2 liner or entering competitions? Any comments? 


We are working with 2-liner prototypes for a while now. From today's perspective, we won't release a CCC 2-liner.





Cheers,


P








Thank you!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Niviuk Arrow M

Image
Niviuk Arrow M   During those 30 years, and of all the harnesses I test flew, this is my first Niviuk harness!   There’s always a first time :-)   I have here for test flying the Niviuk Arrow in size M which has 95 % the same specification as their new Hawk but with a nice elongated fairing.   The size M goes to 178cm pilot height.   I’m 1.81 tall, but when I sat in an M size when I was at the Coupe Icare, it felt ok.   So I ordered two sizes. One M just arrived and one L should arrive in a month or two hopefully.   As you will see in a close-up in the video attached, the finish details and the work done, the sewing, on this Arrow harness is indeed superb and put the NK Arrow among the top-end harnesses for a clean finish detail in the market.   The Arrow pod can be replaced easily if damaged by mistake with side zippers.   There’s a seat plate on the harness.   Under the seat is a pocket that fits a 4 kg water ballast. On the right side...
Read more

OZONE Zeolite GT MS

Image
OZONE Zeolite GT   MS The original Zeolite was used in the latest X-Alps. Ozone released a little sturdier version, but still quite light as it weighs 3.5 kilos, the Zeolite GT. The Zeolite GT is a 2 liner, with a little wooden handle on the B’s. Launching the Zeolite GT at 93 all up, in nil wind is very intuitive. The glider inflates well, and fast. I think it reacts like any C glider in terms of launching. In strong air, the brake authority is present to stop the surge.   The brake pressure is on the moderate side. Firm brake pressure, linear handling, and very good authority for a 6.7 AR glider with very few lines! Turning in thermals is quite nice on the Zeolite GT. A very good authority on the brakes that enables its pilot to have a direct response and feel. The turning behavior is surprisingly nicer than the M7 for example, in homogenous conditions. In turbulent conditions, the authority is still present but the Zeolite movements are quite pronounced, and the work on the...
Read more

UP Summit XC 4

Image
UP Summit XC 4 SM  After my beloved Trango X-Race :-), here’s UP new B glider the Summit XC 4 in SM size. I took a bit of time to write this test, but finally here it is. The XC4 has a aspect ratio of 6.3 with an EN-B rating ! Honestly i wasn’t a fan of the XC3 SM when i test flew it…The overall performance and usability didn’t convince me at the time. Today with the Summit XC 4 i took my time to explore it a little bit and finally managed to get a Carrera plus SM to complete my comparison. Launching the Summit XC 4 is like any mild 6.3 aspect ratio glider. It’s easy to launch…Not like the 5.4 aspect ratio gliders…But it has a homogenous and straight launch. Once airborne, the Summit XC 4 gave me the same brake feel as its bigger sister the X-race ! with a slight more forgiving and filtered feel. But the Summit XC4 strangely has the ‘same’ DNA !  With a medium brake pressure, the XC 4 has a moderate to good agility, A very nice coordinated feel, performance oriented turning ra...
Read more