NOVA Interview (Philippe Medicus) R&D department

A few questions for Philippe medicus head of NOVA R&D department .

1-Ziad: Do you consider the new concept of the Phantom an open gate for future glider designs?

Yes!

Philippe Medicus: I don't think, that the Phantom is going to stay the only wing of its kind.

2- Ziad: What are the benefits of this concept on higher aspect ratio gliders? + 6, 7, 8 AR?

Philippe Medicus: Current competition wings have a similar cell count already.
Adding the complex internal structure of the Phantom would decrease weight and increase dimensional stability.
But compared to the advantage of the concept in the "Low-B Class", the benefit would be a lot smaller.

3- Ziad: Does implementing this concept will increase the speed, the stability, or only the performance?

Philippe Medicus: The concept does not increase the collapse resistance, but the dimensional stability benefits a lot. So the wing stays closer to its intended shape, which increases performance.
A high performance glider tends to gain more speed when pushing the speed-bar with a certain travel, than a wing with less performance.
So it's no coincidence, that the Phantom is a faster than an Ion4 on bar.

4- Ziad: NOVA enthusiast will be able to see a new Mentor 5 with this concept? Any dates?

Philippe Medicus: Currently we are not developing an other wing with this concept. So the Mentor 5 won't be a "Phantom-type" wing.
Sorry - no dates yet, but certainly not this year.

5- Ziad: Will it have an impact on the handling ? Turning ability?

Philippe Medicus: It does have an impact on the handling: The Phantom handles more precisely than any other Low-B glider we have flown. And - to a certain extend - the performance of a wing directly affects the handling. When a glider converts speed into height well, pilots say that you can "feel the performance". That's what the Phantom does more than other low AR wings.

6- Ziad: Could they also see a new Triton “C” with lots of cells? 

Philippe Medicus: We haven't decided yet.

7- Ziad: What do you see in future glider design?

Philippe Medicus: Detailed predictions of the future turn out to be false most of the time. :)
So I won't bother you with any guesses.

8- Ziad: The Bion 1 was almost indestructible! Can you please describe the new Bion 2?

And what will motivate the professionals to fly the Bion 2?

Philippe Medicus: The Bion2 has a lighter bottom sail than the Bion1, which won’t affect the longevity unless landing on a tree... The Bion2 will be just as durable as the Bion1.
Easy take off, easy handling, and good flaring ability for landing, longevity.

Further more it's quite fast with open trimmers and has a lot more performance than Bion1.

9- Ziad: One more question please. Can you describe the new Bion 2? The Bion 1 was a very tough tandem wing, almost indestructible !
Why would the professionals be interested in buying the Bion 2 ?

Philippe Medicus: The Bion2 has a lighter bottom sail than the Bion1, which doesn't affect the longevity. (Except you damage the bottom sail, by landing in a tree)
But besides such an incident, the Bion2 will be just as durable as the Bion1.

> Why would the professionals be interested in buying the Bion 2 ?
Easy take off, easy handling, and good flaring ability for landing. And of course the longevity. Further more it's quite fast with open trimmers and has a lot more performance than Bion1.

Thank you Philippe !