PARAGLIDING IN SA  |   FLYING SITES  |   REVIEWS  |   AIRLORE  |   STORIES  |   GALLERY |   CARTOONS NOVA ARGON by Greg Hamerton Greg has been flying since 1992 and has flown over 100 wings. He prefers responsive handling and agility but rates passive stability highly as he enjoys taking photographs and snoozing whilst gliding.  INTRODUCTION The new constituent of the atmosphere - NOVA's Argon Nova has a long history of high performance design. The Phantom lead the way back in '92. The Xenon stormed through the competition circuilt in '95. The Xyon in '96 was a real sports-class winner. The Argon is the latest cut from Hannes Papesh, designed with the cross-country pilot and serial class racer in mind. CONSTRUCTION : At last, paragliding manufacturer's are all beginning to give us decent bags to trek up the mountain with! Nova's new rucksack is well-built, and has a unique V-shape, ensuring the weight is properly balanced and not bulging away at your lower back as all the old packs used to do. The "Com-press-or" has a big volume, and can extend well above the shoulders if need be. The glider itself shows very clean manufacture, and a tight skin, most notably on the V-ribs and the leading edge in flight. The competition rigging (if you choose to go that route) includes some very thin lines, so should be replaced regularly (I would estimate 100 hours). This gives a slight performance advantage, and you retain the DHV2/3 rating. The line consumption is minimal, with simple rigging and only three risers. INTO THE AIR : Simple launching characteristics mean you can inflate the glider just by leaning hard into the wind - the wing comes up on its own and stabilises well. I would differ from Hugh Miller who said of the brakes : 'precise for the first 20cm, then spongier lower down' [XC mag 70]. I found the brake pressure light for a Nova, and 'smooth / soft' rather than 'precise' up to a third brake. The turn it produces is measured and calm, though with strong weight-shift the wing banks and tightens up. The energy retention in turns was moderate, without a lot of conversion. You need outside brake to keep the glider flat, and can slide the glider around in something that feels almost like a 'negative' turn when scratching in punchy, narrow lift. Allround it is easy to fly. The wing looked smaller and lower-aspect than I am used to in the 2/3 class, and I began to relax under what looked to be a 'friendly intermediate'. It rides through the bumpy air well, though active flying is important to prevent tucks. STABILITY : On 50% collapses I discovered where it got the 2/3 rating - the Argon dives to the horizon and enters a deep spiral if nothing is done to correct the collapse. The spiral slows, and the wing reinflates on its own after more than 360 degrees, but the height loss is surprising and rapid. For the kind of experienced pilot who will be flying a DHV2/3, this behaviour is not a problem, because countersteering is easy. It just means you can't put an inexperienced pilot on the Argon and expect him to enjoy the rough stuff. The Argon feels reassuring in the air, and certainly warns you before collapsing, so with good piloting you'll have no problem. Stall point was near my seat-board, and the wing mushes into a parachutal stall before going all the way into full stall. So on the deep-brakes landing, you'll have an instant to recover if you make a mistake, which is nice to know but should never be needed. SPEED : I found a constant 51km/h maximum speed. The wing withstood mild turbulence with a spanwise compression movement, akin to a concertina, but showed little sign of wanting to tuck. The competition rigged Argon 26 was a bit faster - a pilot clipped in near the maximum weight was reaching 56-58km/h at times. This speed comes with a very competitive glide, making into-wind racing the Argon's strong point. SUMMARY : Nova has again come up with a good allround wing for cross country pilots. The turns are smooth, the glider feels reassuring, and the performance will keep you in the lead gaggle of the 2000 Serial class. Just be sure that you are ready for the 2/3 class before you choose the Argon instead of the more benign DHV2 X-Ray. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS : Nova http://www.nova-wings.com Many thanks to the Nova importer for the wing : call Airborne - Rob or Barry - 021 434 2011 ARGON (DHV2/3)           24       Number of cells           90 (21x4+6)       Projected area (m2)           23.9       Flat Area (m2)           26.6       Flat Aspect Ratio           5.3       Line length           7.68       In-flight weight range (kg)           80 - 110       Min / Trim / Max speed (km/h)           21 / 37 / 52                           Airborne reviewer (kg)           100       Vmin in review (km/h)           22       Vtrim in review (km/h)           37       Vmax in review (km/h)           51                           Altitude of review (m above sea)           500       Air pressure Qnh (in hPa)           1013       Air temperature (degrees C)           24       Correction factor* for speeds           101%       * Note : Apply the correction factor if you would like to scale my raw data to a standardised condition of 1000m altitude, 1013.2 hPa Qnh pressure, and 15 deg.C. air. * I use a 15 second average to provide 'highest sustainable speed'. 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