Into the horizon with Nova`s new DHV2 glider |
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Review by Lars Sletten |
Intro "Have
you seen a sand pendulum, the kind where a pendulum is drawing arcs in a
bead of sand below its suspension? "Imagine
that the bullseye is the image of the perfect, flawless high performance
paraglider. |
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Some of you may have read my previous reviews on the various Nova gliders, and remember that the words above are The last REAL improvement by Nova (in my mind) was the introduction of the AERON. Expectations soared and the forums went red hot when words of nova`s new creations reached our community... So the question remains; the nova RA - just talk or can it also walk the walk .... Here are my impressions after 40 hours in many different conditions (Including hammering spring thermals) All up flying weight has been between 105 and 115 kg using an integral harness, the AVASPORT SAMURAI Also note that this article covers ONLY the M size. The glider was provided by the previous distributor for Norway. Comparing to the other Nova DHV2 gliders
A comment on the Arc ratio; |
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 The RA - the Egyptian sun god 2 brand new RA `s on their maiden flight. The racy sailcut, the design and the incredible beautiful swept wingtips makes (for me) the best looking glider ever ... |
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Personally, I like the fresh graphics of the RA |
Build
Thankfully, Nova has carried on the simplicity of build and usage.
There is nothing special about the glider, everything is kept clean and simple.
From the risers to the lines and the canopy, just the way I like it.
What is really something about this glider; is the shortage of lines.
In fact, there are only 2 main lines from each riser, and remember that this is a 3 riser glider.
The main lines are “normal” 1.6 mm that cascades into really thin 0.6 mm unsheathed upper lines.
I think it is amazing how they can suspend a sail this clean with such a small usage of lines.
Clearly, a large amount of drag is due to lines, especially at high speed, so Nova has clearly pushed the envelope forward in this respect.
At first, I thought that this were to be intimidating, like “is this really strong enough” ????
But I guess you just have to trust the glider and the load tests.
However, I personally would not consider this a glider for heavy acro, nor an ideal paramotor glider.
Where my Tattoo makes a “wooooshhh” sound at speed, the Ra is more like “whissssssss” you can actually hear that the drag is less on the Ra.
The sail material has changed from Gelvenor on the upper sail to 45g Skytex Evolution 2.0.
This cloth feels a bit thinner and softer than the gelvenor material.
My previous gilders (Aeron and Tattoo) showed impressive durability and more than 150 hours
barely showed signs of wear at all (Tattoo). I hope the new sail is this good too.
Compared to other brands, it is remarkable how well the NOva`s remain "fresh"
This fall, a fellow pilot saw my Tattoo and coulden`t believe that it had 150 hours on it...
A word of criticism is in place when it comes to the bag supplied.
Although the design and concept is great, the material used is a real step back compared to the materials used in the my Tattoo bag.
Tattoo bag is made of durable cordura cloth and high quality plastic fittings, the Ra bag looks exactly the same but is made of thinner nylon cloth and the fittings has shown questionable quality in several bags.
Please revert to the quality of cordura and proper fittings, a glider this good deserves that!
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Unsheeted upper lines like the Aeron |
A true 3 riser system, simple as it can be |
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Can it get any simpler (and better) ? |
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 This is all the lines from one riser... |
 Please stop using the cheap nylon cloth for the bag!!! |
 Nice equipment that works well! Look at the gloves - Therm IC electrically heated. They work wonders and lasts about 2.5 hrs at max |
 Just as cool every time .... Unpacking a brand new glider - the smell, the feel ! |
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Looking towards Mt Blanc, Chamonix valley |
Launching
I think this is a very important thing to look for when trying out a new glider.
Getting in the air with style is something every pilot should strive for and of course must be practiced to the point of perfection. The pilot must know his or hers glider intimately.
Gliders can behave quite differently at launch, and usually the higher the performance, the more demanding launch.
So as I have been “spoiled” by the super easy launching of the Aeron and especially the Tattoo,
I was curious about the Ra with much more flat aspect ratio (higher arc).
I flew the Tycoon and I was a little disappointed by it`s behaviour at launch, not difficult for an pilot of the right kind, but still a bit demanding. Yes it has super performance and very high flat aspect, but still…
The new UP Trango 3 is for instance child’s play at launch.
I must say that I am very pleased with the Ra in this respect with little to wish for.
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Look at the line geometry, very clean indeed |
Forward launch.
I always lay the glider in a slight horseshoe before a forward launch, this assures that the center part inflates first and makes the pullup a little more controlled.
(I have tried to lay it out without the curve, and it still behaves good)
Pullup is medium fast with continuous rate of rise, no “hard points” once you get it going.
Determined effort is required as the glider is a little reluctant to rise during the first few steps.
Very little input is required to prevent an overshoot.
Note that you should not release the risers too soon, as the glider has a tendency to "fall down"
if riser pull is released too early.
Also note that the RA does not come up "by it self" like the Tattoo might do.
Note : I emphasise that during a forward launch the arms should be pulled up by the glider, not using your arms trying to lift the glider. This often produces an uneven pullup with great risk of frontal collapse.
Initialy; just keep your arms relaxed pointing backwards to the gilder and slightly downward., then use your body weight to pull the glider up.
Body position during launch should be forward leaning, like a sprinter. This assures that the your forces are going in the right direction – Forward, not upwards !!
This practice can be a problem for pilots learning to fly paramotors; launching like this will likely cost you a few $$
in expensive props...
When launching a ppg, you should refraim from leaning forward - sending the thrust upwards and pushing you down...
Instead, lean heavily backwards against the thrust, directing the blast back and down, try to add as much weight on
the glider as you can, allowing it to accellerate.
Here is "my" PPG launch sequence if the wind is low.
- Pull the glider up using the same foward lean as the free flight launch. I add about 20% power for some push.
- When the glider is above me, I always take time to check for proper inflation. Keep moving forward at a constant pace
- Progressively add enough brake so that the glider starts supporting your weight.
This is actually quite a lot of brake, around 50% of total travel range.
This brake input will start to put load on the canopy, increasing the accelleration. - Start running and adding power as you move forward.
- As you accellerate power should rapidly reach 100% while you gradually transition from forward lean to a
rather determined lean backwards against the thrust. - As speed and backward lean increases, you must start easing off the brakes,
- Time your transition so that your glider fully supports your and the engine`s weight as you "run out of brake"
- Again; during the final takeoff sequence, you let the glider carry close to 100% of the total weight
Your legs should be a pure "undercarriage" , the engine providing the push. - Time it right, and you will feel a tremendous accelleration during your run, providing ample airspeed for a safe launch.
- If you have trouble getting the speed up during your launches, you are most certainly not putting enough weight
on your glider. - This tecnique is efficient and stylish once you master it. BUT it takes a lot of practice to do well.
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Here is a (I`m not a great artist) drawing of the sequence..... Check out the brake position in relation to body position |
The RA can do a good job as a PPG glider, but I think buying a RA for primary PPG use is not the best idea.
- The already heavy controls becomes even more heavy with the added weight
- The line geometry does not appeal (to me) to do any crazy stunts while under power.
- It is not super easy to forward launch (still good though)
- It performs great when travelling long distances!
- Low drag and high trim speed will ensure good fuel economy
- It is rock steady and can be flown "hands off" for long periods.
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My thrusty Tattoo does an excellent job as a PPG glider. I can cruise at 45 Kmh with a fuel consumption of less than 2.5 L/hr on my flycastelluccio mach 1 light. |
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Looking at this glider, it doesen`t take much imagination to see that it can really fly... I consider the RA as a performance glider with remarkable mellow behaviour |
Reverse launch
Still good behaviour, but is slightly more demanding than the Tattoo. Where the Tattoo could be controlled in rather extreme angles of bank, the Ra has it`s limits for what the glider can tolerate.
Still a pleasure for the pilot as the glider rises nice and evenly, medium to fast rise.
Compared to the Tycoon, the Ra is a good bit better.
For such an high performing glider, I am very pleased with little to wish for.
Note: There are many different ways to execute a reverse launch and each has it`s strengths and weaknesses.
A discussion on this matter is out of the scope of this article….
My experiences on the matter though:
If the wind is strong, above 5 ms I use the method called the “mitzos launch” pulling both A risers together and holding the C risers with the other hand. Rate of rise is controlled by the C risers and yaw by both hands in different directions.
Works great as you have good control preventing a too rapid rise with the glider pulling hard.
Yaw control is unusual at first, so practice before trying “for real” .
If wind is less than 5 ms, I prefer holding each A riser separately, arms crossed.
This is of course up to the individual pilot, but the chosen technique should be perfected
First impressions
Coming from the super agile Tattoo, I was really hoping for a more damped handling.
I prefer using my glider for getting up, cruising along and munching kilometres rather than high G`s and acro manouvers.
The Tattoo is a great, fun glider to fly, but can sometimes be a bit nervous in the rough stuff, not unstable but you need very precise input in order to get the most out of the glider.
I know that the the more load you put into the Tattoo, the better it flies.
It is a superb PPG wing. I have flown more than 75 hours PPG on it and I love it.
At a total weight of more than 130 kg on the medium Tattoo, the glider behaves beautifully.
This is a feature of most Nova gliders, they all like to be loaded heavily.
It did not take many minutes of airtime to verify that the Ra is indeed a different glider.
The handling in turns is much more “high performance like” than the Tattoo is.
Brake forces are a good bit higher, especially in the initial travel.
Input response is more damped and slow, especially in bank, while pitch control resembles that of the Tattoo
only with more control authority.
Although the Ra needs more “muscle” to fly, I prefer it like this for a glider designed for XC.
I think it`s simply more relaxing in the long run.
The sail appears to have very high span wise tension, and like the Tycoon you seldom see any lateral movement of the sail.
Although the canopy feels hard and rigid, feedback down to the risers is somewhat damped and actually adds to the secure feeling of the glider.
My first flight was in bumpy spring thermals, but despite this; I soon got the feeling that I could go “anywhere” with this glider….
Compared to the Tattoo, the Ra simply feels like a more stable glider that will inpire it`s pilot to go further…
I have since then flown the Ra in quite strong and turbulent conditions and my impressions have been confirmed.
Yes, the glider can deflate, but does so in a very gentle and controllable way.
It is hard to say whether of the Tattoo or Ra that is the most deflation proof glider, but no doubt; when a deflation occurs, the RA is the one with the most gentle behaviour, especially at high speed.
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A glider for pilots that loves to cruise, to thermal, to go far, Pilots looking for acrobatic manouvers should choose a different glider. |
Roll and yaw control and feel
I like to think of the RA as similar to the Tycoon but with longer brake range.
The Tycoon has a very short travel, but is quite effective within that, especially when airspeed is high.
Same with RA, brake pressure is high from the beginning (less progressive than Tattoo) but can produce quite tight turns if you keep the airspeed up and use the dynamic nature of this high performance glider…
Weight shift is effective but I do not think the glider really need much weight shift in order to turn efficiently.
Like many of the new high arc gliders you should try to keep up your airspeed and use the dynamics of the thermals in order to really squeeze into the tight cores, do not be afraid to bank generously if the thermals are tight, and at the same time, letting the glider “live” and not trying to harness it too much.
A little bit of a dive will give you the opportunity to bank very steeply and accurate into a rapid rising core.
Flying like this in good lift gives the impression of quite light handling that only requires maybe 10 cm of brake travel.
Also think of that it is the flightpath relative to the chordline that dictates effective angle of attack, so even if the glider might be momentarily pitching, it does not necessary mean you are closer to the deflation or the stall. Coordinated flight is the key word here!
For aerodynamics freaks; the AERODYNAMIC angle of attack of a paraglider is usually a good bit higher than the
geometric angle of attack.
Even if the geometric angle of attck is 0, the glider will still be producing positive lift.
This means that for a cambered airfoil to produce 0 lift, it must be at a negative geometric angle of attack.
In airplane design, using different airfoils along the span, designers can achieve what is called aerodynamic washout.
This is more efficient than geometric washout. (Less drag)
Much tweaking is possible through creative use of different airfoils along the span!
 Here you see a the outboard section from my latest sailplane design, the "speedbritt Lmax" Aerodynamic chord in red and geometric chord in black. This setup decreases effective angle of attack towards tip and improves stall + decreases induced drag As you (surely ?) know; everything in aerodynamics depends on DRAG... |
See the video from the first test flight here |
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Pitch control and feel
Where the Tattoo has a tendency to live it`s own life above you, the RA is the opposite.
Actually very different behaviour!
The Tattoo swings freely once you get it going, but it has a definite "pitch stop" and never tends to "nose over"
It is always far from collapsing, but this behaviour does make the glider a bit nervous in the rough stuff.
Note : Wing loading plays a big part here; the more load on it, the more it calms down and vice versa.
The RA has the same "pich stop" as the Tattoo, but the way it behaves getting there is quite different.
If you build up a pitch swing by adding and releasing brake subsequently, the RA will swing slowly compared to the Tattoo.
Almost like it moves through a liquid, damped movement is the word.
This is the inherent stability of the glider, and I like it a lot.
Now; what does the brakes do?
I critisised the pitch of the Tattoo; unprecise and not very effective.
The RA is better, still not super effective (like Aeron) but is gives you the control you need to harness it no matter what
the turbulence. Well balanced in relation to the pitch damping.
Flying the RA in thermals is simply a bag of joy (:
The way I see it, close to perfect balance between roll, pitch and yaw. Taking care of pitch almost by itself and with a
roll damping that keeps the glider firmly tracking in the core, no tendency of being "thown out"
The Aeron had no autopitch and the Tattoo had too much of it, the RA - "autopitch" with
good manual control.
NOTE:
The RA with it`s 3 riser system is quite a delicate piece of equipment when it comes to rigging.
Changing the lenght of the rear main lines by just a tiny amount will do ALOT to the trim speed and general behaviour.
So I strongly advice you to have this in mind if you experience any problems with the glider
There are known issues in production; some gliders had a too high trim speed.
Please contact me directly if you want to discuss this matter as I will not publish any figures here.
Also note that tinkering with the line geometry might render the certification invalid.
Please do not do anything like this unless you have the skill and knowledge to do it right.
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Let`s go |
Hot and low?
Now, what if we find our self low and scratching the hillside?
Do not worry, because this is the asset of the RA that I cherish the most!
It can produce extremely efficient slow, tight turns close to the terrain.
And it makes it really easy for the pilot to do so…..
pitch coordination is superb and the glider has very little tendency to dive into the turn but stays “glued”
at right angle above the pilot.
I am amazed by the way I can “trash it” around yet still have nice coordinated turns.
Do that with the Tattoo and your flightpath would soon look like a rollercoaster ride…
You should be aware that tight turning the Ra at slow airspeeds requires strong arms …
Slow flying close to the terrain has the inherent risk of entering a spin and ALL gliders will spin eventually.
In the case of the Ra, it has a brake range that is quite long, about the same as the Tattoo.
The Ra needs to be held above the spin limit for some time before it actually softly enters the spin.
(Gradual reduction of airspeed)
Recovery from an initiated spin is smooth and well behaved.
Let it develop more and things get a bit more complicated, the Ra can spin quite briskly.
A curious note on the spin – if you look at the wingtips when you gradually reduce speed; the outmost trailing edge will actually twist upwards and forwards until it almost has folded itself topsail on topsail – quite funny to watch ( :
The Ra can climb like a cork through water –
extremely important asset in order to increase your success probability on your XC flights.
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Spring thermals over one of my "home mountains" The RA does that better than any other glider I have tried |
Performance
Yes, this is a DHV2 gider.
Yet I sometimes have a hard time determining wheter I should call the RA an intermediate or performance glider.
It has such high levels of raw performance yet handles so benign.
It is so simple in its layout, yet looks so racy and sleek.
Many a dicussion with other pilots has wandered into a debate about this.
Leaving the "feelings" alone, lets look at the facts.
This is a snapshot from our epic flight, crossing the straight between Hinnoy and Andoy.
The distance is almost 10 km and here we see the tracks of 3 glides flying head to head.
- Nova RA (white track)
- Nova Tycoon (blue track)
- Up Trango 3 (red track)
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Here we are at the start of the glide, the other 2 gliders ahead |
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And at the end of the glide, we are almost togheter again |
As you can see, the differences are neglible, both glide and speeds are practically identical
In fact, the RA seemed the have an edge, speed concerned.
This supports both the drag theory and my impressions; the RA performs better and better the faster you fly.
Clearly the low line drag plays its part.
The RA is a fast glider. When I got mine, it had the (too) fast trim speed and really zoomed along.
After adjusting the rear lines, trim speed decreased but it still can keep up or mostly outfly most gliders out there.
I still have not seen any certified gliders that can outfly the RA when it comes to speed.
NOTE: the speed system of the glider is a quite agressive one; at the fast setting I experienced a couple of full frontal
deflations after pushing the bar to the stops. The air was a little turbulent, but still...
NOVA issued a new riser set with less travel than the original one, mostly to cure a tuck under tendency if brake
were combined with full speed.
Apart from this, I simply let the pictures tell their story (enforced by a full seasons flying against gliders off all kinds).
The RA can hold its own against almost anything flying today; glide - speed and sinkrate.
And for the debate on it`s class -
- Performance : it is clearly in the DHV 2-3 range, and clearly outperforms the Tattoo
- Handling : it is also in the DHV 2-3 range, it handles like many high performance wings.
- Security : It has the properties of a low class DHV 2 glider
- Daily use : Excellent, simple and efficient, like an entry level glider.
It should be little debate about the fact that in its`class, the RA is completely unrivalled.
Nothing else in the DHV 2 category can touch it when we talk about "raw" performance.
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Glider stability and security
This glider pushes paraglider development forward a good bit, and it has apparently not been an easy task producing
a glider like this.
The M size came out first and the other sizes were to follow in succession.
The story is known; cloning the M into other sizes lead to many months of waiting for the pilots not in the M range.
The reasons for this are debated extensively on the forums around, PGforum RA thread has more than 500 entries and
131000 views...
Even though one can discuss why the different sizes has such a huge spread in release times, I firmly believe that
Nova`s decision to push the RA forward was a brave and correct one.
T
here are many other gliders released lately that has done very little to push the envelope forward.
Yes; they come out in all sizes togheter and easily passed the tests, but
being a follower has always been the
easy way out.
We have seen some quite radical thoughts from Nova lately; Shockwave and Ibis especially (product pages here)
Of course, it is not a good thing, delaying the releases of different sizes from a marketing point of view.
But I have a subtile feeling that something good will come from the difficult birth of the RA, I look at it as a whole,
as a concept that will bring the development further.
There is a saying - Hard times will not last forever, hard people do...
So to Nova; do not be intimidated by the initial struggle, keep bringing on radical designs!
 This shot is from the very first flight, you can see the launch at the top right. The higher arc is clearly visible Photo by Bjørnar Trondsen |
 Would you have guessed that this was a DHV2 glider with documented glide of 9? |
Let the glider do what it does best.
A paraglider has the unique property that it will always try to remain flying nomatter what,
Lately, we have heard the amazing survival stories of people like Frode Halse that were sucked into a CB
and zoomed out of control to more than 6000 meters.
even more amazing the flight of Eva Wisnierska in Manilla sucked up to 10 000 meters and still survived.
Both pilots flew high performance gliders and encountered extreme conditions in the clouds, unable to use visual
references to control the glider.
Any other kind of aircraft without instrument flying equipment would surely have broke up and crashed in conditions like that
A strong demonstration about a paraglider`s ability to keep flying.
The point is; too much pilot intervention is not nescesseary a good thing, let the glider "live"
Some pilots have apparently had trouble with the RA, experiencing frequent deflations, while other (including me)
hardly ever see a deflation on it.
The core of this matter is in the nature of this glider; looking very fast and racy from the pilot`s seat, impressive performance
can lead to the urge of being a bit
over cautious and thus trying to harness the glider too much.
A subtile subject for sure, just think a little about this.
An experienced pilot should have few problems flying the RA.
The stability of the canopy, and especially the leading edge is quite impressive for it`s performance level.
The main difference between the Tattoo and the RA is the way they feel in flight, especially in pitch.
Where the Tattoo is lively and almost nervous, the RA give me the impression that the canopy flies in a liquid, not air..
All movements are slow and damped, it swings slowly and apparently has an invisible " pitch stop" built in.
This property is unique and gives a very very secure and relaxed feeling in flight, thus the thought that I can go
"anywhere" with the glider.
Rollwise I see some of the same tendencies, not as apparent, but still a much more relaxed behaviour than the Tattoo.
I have seen few real deflations during this season, but I have done several by myself.
The deflations as they happen should be no problem for the right pilot and leaves little more to mention.
I do want to explain the way the glider behaves during reopening.
It is amazingly benign as the glider sorts out the cloth, especially when you deflate it fully accellerated, simply
beautiful, never any violent gyrations. The RA shines in this respect.
A word on dealing with deflations -
Keeping up your airspeed is paramount when a deflation occurs. When you add brake input, nomatter how little,
airspeed will decrease. So the less brake input you need to apply during reopening, the better.
Weightshift is the key word here. The RA will easily keep tracking straight with just weightsift, even from an accellerated
deflation - a very positive property.
Just for the saying; after a 50 % deflation unaccellerated, you can fly 360`s into the good side by just adding weightshift.
Even the Tycoon will fly straight after a 50% deflation if you just add weightshift into the good wing.
 The wingtips, simply irresistable |
 Sexy or what? |
Trouble in Piedrahita
During the final round of the nordic open this summer, I made a mistake that could have gone badly wrong.
Flying towards Avila, having passed the pass of Villafranca I cuised under a 3500 meter cloudbase and had to decide
wether to go on the flatland, direct route or go right into the mountains, I chose the mountain route.
As it turned out, the flatlands were the better route and I soon found myself struggling low in the foothils.
A weak thermal enabled me to climb fairly well, but a brisk wind drifted me towards the main mountain range.
Passing 2000 meter I felt a bit relaxed, apparently being able to fly into the main range.
Then I lost the thermal and I found myself in sinking air over a rugged and slowly rising terrain.
I sunk below a ridge and by doing so, I lost the abilty the fly out into the main valley.
I was trapped in a narrow canyon that did lead out to the main valley, but I still had to fly for quite a few kilometers
along this unpleasant canyon, landing sites were almost non existent, only pine trees and large boulders in the gorges.
What concerned me most was the fact that I was positioned directly behing a rather sharp ridge where a brisk wind
was blowing, I flew in a most present rotor...
I consider myself hard to scare and I know I can take a lot of aerial beating before I back out, but this was one of the rare
occasions that I honestly have to say that I was a bit scared...
Danger was real and conditions were very turbulent and changeable.
Height above the rim rarely exceeded 50 meters, but I managed to struggle on, battling the turbulence and violent
thermal punches from below.
The RA prooved itself as a thrusty companion, and it came through the ordeal with surprisingly few deflations,
the ones that did happen reopened
softly every time requiring little input from my side.
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While things were still great, flying into the range to the right Ending up into a canyon in the middle of the picture |
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Just after landing in the most beautiful field in the world... |
Finally, I flew out of the canyon and were able to land in a beautiful grass field.
I gave the glider a kiss and a warm thought of admiration.
So rest assured, the RA can take a beating and walk away from it, it is a stable secure glider that still
requires an experienced pilot.
Just remember to let it fly - KEEP UP YOUR AIRSPEED!
Direct comparison of the different manouvers on the RA and the Tattoo
RA |
Tattoo |
Assymetric collapse using the A riser |
Assymetric collapse using the A riser |
Assymetric collapse accellerated using A riser Much better than the Tattoo Release the bar and countersteer and the glider quickly sorts out the deflation. |
Assymetric collapse accellerated using A riser Easy to handle for the experienced pilot. |
B stall The RA seems to be a bit less stable in the stall (turning) |
B stall Once in the stall, glider is stable, on recovery starts flying |
Spin stop manouvre Brakeline tension is quite constant as more brake is applied Always instant recovery at brake release, |
Spin stop manouvre |
Negative spin Note : the wingtip "twists" up and forward just before the |
Negative spin
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Slow flight deccellerating to stalling NOte : At one of these stalls (high speed entry) |
Slow flight deccellerating to stalling Stalling point is just above the hipbone No tendency to enter deep stall, and can easily be brough back to slowflight after a moderate stall.
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| Big ears Easy to initiate, using the outer A line. Folds in about 30 % Pilot needs to hold A line pulled, otherwise the ears "pop" out again, but slowly. Use accellerator, and ears stays " in " and descent rate increases. Note that due to only 2 main lines, you get "alot" of action when you pull the outer ine Average descent rate increase, and efficient weightshift only steering. |
Big ears Easy to initiate with rather low forces involved. Folds in only 15 cells when using 1 line, thus giving limited increase in sink rate. "ears" will pop out again, accellerator helps against this. Low descent rate increase, and very efficient weightshift only steering. |
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Finally...
"Imagine
that the bullseye is the image of the perfect, flawless high performance
paraglider.
A glider where no special skill and technique is required, perfect design
and build quality,
and killer performance + good looks"
These were the words I wrote when the Aeron came out.
Both the Aeron and the Tattoo are great gliders that has proven themselves through the test of time.
But I would not rate any of them high enough to fullfill the demands as stated above.
Then came the RA ...
Before I go on, please keep in mind that I have my own preferences and style, what might work wonders for me,
might not be as appealing to another pilot. Anything that deals with "feel" shares this paradox.
A Harley Davidson rider will probably never end up on a japanese "plastic rocket" and so on.
If I should be really really nitpicky I would ask for
- A touch easier 0 wind launch
- A touch lighter brake pressure (but really, the ***mers solves this)
- Thats all folks ... (:
So; for me - the RA is so close to the image above that I might fall for the temptation of calling the glider ****ect.
Truly; as I see it, all that remains now is for NOVA to keep all the other things just as they are, and keep improving
performance and safety.
But for now; I will keep this glider for a long time, it represents a close copy of what I have dreamt of since I started
flying paragliders, my quest has come full circle.
Then a prayer to Hannes and Nova : Could you build me the PPG wing that I dream of ? please ...
- Easy forward launch
- Slow stall speed
- Very low drag; a LD of 9 or more to keep the required power down.
- Emphasis on the speed range around 45 kmh, where I am mostly on those 300 km flights
- A top speed of more than 60 kmh without the need for gas guzzling reflex systems
This speed range is needed to battle the occacional brisk headwind.
Are you up to the challenge ?
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PPG at night, a beautiful night in june.. |
As an appendix to this article, I would like to share some thoughts concerning flight safety.
Let`s tap into some wisdom from the world of commercial avaition.
I hope you will find some new perspective here.
The minimax principle.
As gliders becomes better and better we ideally should se less and less people hurting themselves while flying.
Sadly, I do not think this is the case as serious accidents still happen far too often, even when using the latest
low classified gliders with protective harnesses.
My perspective on this; In the “old” days when equipment were less developed, accidents could sometimes be lead to “curious” glider behaviour, especially deep stall and spin incidents were often seen.
Gliders could surprise the pilot, revealing changeable behaviour when wet, when flying in cold weather and so on.
Bottom line, even though pilot error were the main reasons for incidents, gliders were more demanding to handle.
Today, the gliders have developed to the point of near perfection, yet still, people experience serious accidents.
Why?
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Waiting for the thermals to kick in ! |
Cases
An inexperienced pilot fresh out of the training decides to launch into strong winds at a site known for heavy turbulence.
He launches despite that local pilots has urged him not to.
Soon he finds himself low in a narrow canyon with no good landings.
In order to avoid high voltage lines, he turns the glider downwind, smashing into a rock face.
Broken back and several other fractures.
An inexperienced pilot is alone on the mountain and due to strong winds on the summit he decides to launch a bit further down where the wind is less strong.
Lenticular clouds are abundant on the sky.
He clips in and before he get to grab the brakes, a gust of wind rips him of the ground and slingshots him up and over the summit, totally out of control.
Hitting a building stops his wild ride, but causes a large number of fractures and internal injuries.
In aviation, there is a thing called "personal minimums" and I believe that there are "one or 2" PG pilots that might
consider this concept, and abandon the "anything goes" principle
Here is a checklist you can look at
It is my opinion that incidents due to glider malfunction or behaviour (classified gliders in proper technical condition) are a thing of the past. Just about all accidents happening today are a result of pilot input error, poor judgement and poor decision making.
If am accident happens and you are not a student pilot under supervision; ask this question:
Was the equipment malfunctioning? Were you rammed from behind by another pilot?
If no; then it was your fault.. simple as that.
Remember: Takeoffs are optional, landings are mandatory.
Is it so that as we get better equipment, we also tend to trust our equipment more, to take more risks when we fly?
As I have a background from commercial aviation, I think paragliding could benefit from looking into that world of flying.
For instance: every time I fly my paramotor, I try to put in some emergency training.
Like – flying along, I can take a random decision without looking on the ground, “ENGINE FAILURE” and then run through the procedures and trying to approach a suitable spot with the engine on idle, as I see the result, I eventually add power and climb away.
If not good enough, I “must” do it again until I am happy.
Flying with “one foot on the ground” is a healthy rule.
All powered flights end with shutting the power off and gliding down to land.
As accidents happen, they are usually a chain of events that eventually spirals out of control.
Seldom, a single disastrous malfunction causes the accident. Check the statement below, a good one!
"In aviation you very rarely get your head bitten off by a tiger – you usually get nibbled to death by ducks."
Launching into too strong conditions is the lack of judgement that eventually leads to the deflation that causes the crash.
The primary reason for that accident was the decision to launch, not the deflation.
We have a chain of bad events, primary and secondary and so on….
If a glider should experience a structural failure in flight, like a line rupture, it is most likely that a thorough pre-flight check would have prevented the incident.
Once again, we have a chain of bad events.
A plane tries to depart a runway that is too short for the plane and/or the conditions.
Little or no pre-flight planning is done.
As the pilot realises too late that he will not clear the trees at the end of the field, he desperately pulls the yoke back with a disastrous spin as the result.
Once again, we have a chain of bad events.
We are humans with the tendency to make mistakes, no matter how good our intentions or planning is.
Let`s say that for every hour of flying we make, we must make a number of more or less important decisions.
Flying low in turbulent conditions is clearly more demanding than cruising high up.
Nevertheless, let`s say that we must make 20 important decisions every hour we fly……
If our decisions are almost perfect, say 99%, that still means that we make one critical error for every 5 hours in we fly….
Needless to say, taking deliberate risks will greatly increase the risk of a poor decision.
This brings us to the point; we should accept the fact that no matter how well we prepare, even with the best of intentions, we still must face the fact that we WILL make errors at some point.
Highly trained flight crews with tens of thousands of hours can make the most basic errors.
So can we as paraglider pilots.
This means that it is not your average performance that tells you how safe you fly, it is the odd occasion that your performance drops way below your standards.
Who has not after many good landings suddenly experienced an approach to landing that were nowhere near the usual standards ?
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Unforgettable moment On our way to a new XC record |
The minimax principle states that you should practice relevant procedures to an average level of performance that will insure adequate safety even if your performance should drop tenfold below your average.
It is a paradox that getting to that average level of performance, it takes a lot of practice and time.
Many people in our sport simply do not have the time or the commitment to get there.
Paragliding is for them just another spare time activity in a busy life.
I my mind, some of these matters might be on the brink of a morality question.
For example; is it ethically and moraly right to guide total mountain novices on an Everest expedition?
Is is enthusiasm or money that is the driving force behind such quests?
Unfortunately, flying have never provided a “pause button”, once your off, you can not stop but must end what you started.
Great equipment can never compensate for lack of training.
It is also my opinion that flying is not a "human right"
“A superior pilot is one that uses his superior decision making to avoid situations
where his superior flying skills might be required”
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To all friends and pilots out there - Fly safe ! |