Flight test: Nova Artax

Steve Uzochukwu reports

Nova are based in Innsbruck in Austria, and from there they design and test gliders from sites in the Inn Valley. They've been involved in paraglider manufacture since the end of the 1980s, and have a number of very successful models in their history. The designer is Hannes Papesh, and the UK importer is Dean Crosby at Active Edge.

The Nova Artax is a member of the Radon family, which is made up of the Artax [1-2], Aeron [2] and Radon [some sizes 2 but others could be 2-3]. All the gliders have a similar diagonal rib and line layout, but with number of cells and aspect ratio increasing as you go up the range. Work on these started round about the end of 2001 but was slightly held up by a change of material choice for the construction of the glider. The Artax was first seen in production form at St Hilaire in Sept 2002 and work is now ongoing getting all models and sizes of the family certified. Nova also make a two DHV1 gliders, one for use within the school [Phorus] and a top end 1 for new club pilots called the Pheron, reviewed by SkyWings last year.

Nova use Gelvenor OLKS siliconised PU coated nylon for the top surface, some parts of the bottom surface and Porcher Skytex 9052 for the rest of the undersurface. Suspended and diagonal ribs are Skytex 9092 with the hard, low stretch finish, and unsuspended ribs are 9052. Riser material is black 25mm webbing, except for the 15mm baby A riser, woven by Güth and Wolf. Lines are Liros. The glider has a three riser system with split As, for those who prefer a standard [non-split] A riser this is available to special order or as a retrofit. The glider has a system of diagonal ribs, & compression straps across A, B & C line attachment points. There is full span compression strap across what would be the D line attachment points; there is no D riser and the lines attached here branch backward from the upper end of the middle cascade of the C lines. In the centre of the canopy there is a further cascade rearwards to what would be an "E" attachment point.

The glider supplied was the large size [27], which is DHV certified for 100 -130 kg. This is a big glider - the flat surface area is over 31m2. Test flying was done at 106, 110 and 117kg with both a Skyline Project and a Sky Systems probe. The glider is supplied with a two stage speed bar. The lines for attaching the speed bar end in top quality Charly Brummel hooks with an ultra easy line length adjustment facility. Also supplied are a helmet bag, an inner bag for the glider, a windsock and a manual.

Nova have been using a lightweight bag supplied by Charly now for over a year - the bag comes with a packing diagram and it very easily swallows all the necessary kit including a large harness fitted with 17 cm Bump' Air. The bag has a strap in the interior to hold the harness and glider in place whilst you do up the bag zips - what a great idea. A separate pocket exists for the helmet and any instruments. The bag is designed with a high C of G very close to the back making it very easy to carry on medium distance walks, but the difference between supreme comfort and an unmanageable load is only a few cms on the strap adjustment. Take the time to adjust the straps correctly, as once this is done you will have one of the most comfortable PG rucksacks on the market. The bag comes with a complete set of separate instructions for setting the straps and packing glider away. Look for it carefully - it's in the clear pocket for your name and address label!

Alpine launches are straightforward - lay the glider out, check the lines and away you go. On a flat piece of ground in virtually nil wind all combinations seem to work. I tried inner As, all As, laid out normally and tips pulled down into a horseshoe - no problem with any of those styles. For small Alpine slopes I would stick to inner As and a horseshoe, to increase my odds. For reverse launching a light but firm pull is ideal which needs to turn into a guiding hand with some tension at about 45 degrees to the vertical and stay there until then glider is all but overhead. The glider is quite damped in pitch on the pull up and can run out of impetus - if this is the case and the pilot pulls too hard initially there is a possibility of the glider overflying and collapsing, or having to be stopped with too big a stab on the brakes, lifting the pilot up prematurely. Where there was the possibility of a reverse or alpine launch in very light conditions I had more success with alpine launching, making the most of the glider's faultless behaviour in this mode of take off.

In the air the glider turns flat and easily on the brakes, some weight shift helps but isn't essential. This ability to turn flat allows climbs in the weakest of conditions. Brake pressure is firm but still comfortable over a long period of time. As lift gets stronger more input is required to get the glider to bank up and here weight shift seems to be more important. The best results seem to be with the chest strap set correctly as the previous trait some Nova gliders had of going well with a very wide chest strap has disappeared. In very strong conditions or with broken lift the side of the wing in rising lift can sometimes be hard to get to roll into the turn - this was much reduced when flying at the highest of weights tested, 117 kg which is mid weight range. It just slightly lacks that bite into a strong core some other 1-2s have. Whilst flying in the strong Spring conditions around Lake Annecy, another aspect of flying in strong and broken lift emerged with this glider. When it is ejected from very small and broken thermals or flies through strong turbulence, the glider doesn't collapse. Even on the bottom end of the weight range, the glider is very solid and whilst it may occasionally rustle or even unload, the collapses don't materialise. This glider is rock steady and simply shrugs off turbulence. Pitch control isn't much of an issue, even when the glider drops slightly behind on entry to strong lift or accelerates forward as it falls out of a piece of very small lift. The glider never seems to stray far from being overhead and simply returns there if not actively placed.

Other manoeuvres confirm this gentle giant behaviour. B line stall is classic and easy, the glider simply falls back slightly and then comes back overhead as the descent rate rises. A good descent rate is easy to get and the glider snaps sharply back into normal flight as the stall is released. Brakes were ready to damp the dive but were not needed. Asymmetric collapses start a turn but the inflation pressure whips the riser out of your hand as the glider insists on re-inflating. Big ears require a firm pull, it gets much easier once they are in and they can easily be adjusted via the baby A riser. At one size of ears I can just detect the slightest hint of oscillation. Ears come out by themselves when released, although they take longer on the lighter end of the weight range. Spiral dives are easily controlled once you are familiar with the glider's handling and if not maintained exit without drama.

Trim speed at 110 kg was 37 km/h, rising to 38km/h with an all up weight of 117 kg. The full speed bar travel gave 51-52km/h, again at 117 kg. Speeds were measured with a Brauniger trailing speed probe. The speed system is light and easy to use and the glider feels very solid with it in use.

Landing is simplicity itself, but two minor points come to mind. The glider has excellent performance glide and sink wise, so tends to use up just a bit more field space, and also bear in mind that the Artax doesn't really seem to do inefficient turns, which is a method I have used to help myself get into smaller fields in the past.

The Artax has very good performance, viewed both intuitively and from the one set of independently measured figures, which can be seen on Jerome Daoust's web site [www.expandingknowledge.com]. This performance places it at the top end of the 1-2 class. It combines this with excellent safety, both in the classic passive recovery situation and in avoiding collapses in the first place. In terms of the skill required to fly it, it is more of a mid range 1-2 and the DHV results bear this out with the "counter steering an asymmetric tuck" test getting a DHV1 rating. In moderate lift it has a brilliant climb rate, and can continue to climb in weak lift after other gliders have zeroed out. It tolerates slip-ups in active flying without collapses and caters for the heavier pilot up to 130 kg where a lot of marques end their weight ranges at 125 kg. The performance/safety combination would make it ideal for a pilot upgrading from an older 1-2 or 1, as long they bear in mind that good flights in strong air may be partly attributed to the glider, not their piloting abilities. In very strong lift the emphasis is very much on the correct input to stay in the lift, but failure to get it right has no collapse penalty. All indications are that the glider prefers to be loaded towards the middle or top end of the weight range, and any pilot below 105 kg would be better off with the next size down. The pilot downgrading from a glider with a higher level of certification will find this glider is nicest with a low hang point harness.

The Nova Artax is a great glider for simply cruising around the sky with no stress. It can ride out the rough well and will build the confidence of the pilot upgrading to it. Nova have produced a very tolerant, solid, benign glider with top end performance for its class. A "must try" for all pilots looking for a second glider.

We liked:

Climb rate, solidity, performance.

We would have preferred:

Slightly more bite into strong cores at the bottom end of the weight range.

<< BACK