SWING Nyos RS

Swing Nyos RS 

The last Swing glider i flew with the RAST system was the Arcus RS, and here’s the new high-end B from the same manufacturer, the Nyos RS in size S (75-95) flown at 93.5 all up with an X-rated 6 harness.

The Nyos RS construction holds a normal nose. The lower lines are sheathed with the higher ones unsheathed. The lines are slightly thicker than the competitors in the B category.   

Launching is quite easy in nil wind, and even in strong breeze. The Nyos inflates quite smoothly and evenly.

First turn, i could feel the moderate to short response on the brakes, with quite a nice agility in thermals ! The Nyos RS turns quite flat with moderate pressure on the brakes and could be described as quite agile! It doesn’t handle like an acro wing for sure and it’s not suppose to, but for a handling seeker like me, it’s very satisfying ! Thermals can be cored very tight, even the turbulent ones. 

The handling alone doesn’t really matter sometimes if the glider above the pilot is jumping around all the time. Underneath the Nyos RS, the movements in turbulent air can be described as “computerized self controlled” , as the Nyos RS feels very compact and super smooth to fly !

I flew this glider in some turbulent air, and got myself into a sunny lee side of a cliff, when the wind was blowing around 20 km/h from the other side. Usually the experience is not really joyful…but it was quite soft on the Nyos RS ! I got a bullet thermal that got me into higher layer, and kept my flight going on further.

I have been flying this path for a very long time, and underneath plenty of gliders. The Nyos RS was the coolest, most reassuring, comfortable glider ever to be flown among B’s ! 

The experience flying the Nyos RS is exceptional when it comes to comfort ! Even compared to some low B’s !

 Having said that, the Nyos RS could not be considered as a dull glider at all. 

It will inform the pilot about all the movement of the air around, but with such rare serenity and homogeneity and an efficient leading edge that surfs the airmass moving constantly forward in a super smooth way ! Incredible ! All that, led me to say, that the Nyos RS is indeed “The Rolls Royce of the sky”  ! 

Even in turbulent air, there not pitch back ! The Nyos RS just simply move forward quietly with that amazing solidity and super cohesive structure ! Some B gliders will have sharp movements, or a bit of yaw, some pitch…But not the Nyos RS. It just inform the pilot and filters wisely only the excess of turbulence !

Gliding with top high B gliders in moving air, i could notice that the Nyos RS is very competitive, and i could put the gliding efficiency among today’s top four, high-end B gliders.  

The interesting part of the glide in turbulent shaky air, was the easiness of the C risers control.  Using the bar in total confidence with the C riser control will deliver a quite efficient glide and they are super easy to use with moderate and progressive pressure. If only a thinner line version would be feasible, it could perhaps squeeze up even more overall performance to dominate the category.  

Climbing in weak and strong could place also the Nyos RS among the top 5 gliders in the high B category.  

Ears are stable, efficient, and reopen without pilot input. 

The pluses:  The ratio of usability ! I mean exceptional comfort and homogeneity with smooth information coming through! 

Conclusion: The Nyos has a normal nose, normal width lines, yet it glides beautifully and efficiently into wind. As for the flight characteristics and compact structure, I can totally confirm that the Nyos RS has somehow a different feel from many B’s i have tested. It has a very taught, super homogenous structure, with precise and direct brake response.  The comfort flying the Nyos RS is very high. Pilots flying in strong air and alpine conditions wishing for a solid, well mannered companion, should strongly consider flying the Nyos RS as a good option.  

I’m not an engineer to talk about RAST and the benefits that comes along…but it seems what i have experienced flying the Nyos RS couldn’t be understood otherwise. 

This is only my opinion. Make your own !

NOVA Sector S

NOVA Sector S 

After 10 years, NOVA finally released their new C replacement. A flat aspect ratio of 6.0, unsheathed lines all over and  a 3 line configuration setting. 

The factor 2 is made with light fabric and the S size weights around 4 kg.

Launching the light cloth Sector is easy in all conditions. Those light gliders can launch even without touching the A's ! 

I flew the Sector S at 95, 96 all up. This load enabled the Sector to be quite taught and efficient in all conditions.

IMHO, Its better to put the exact pressure in a car wheel in order to take corners at high speed. Any less pressure in those wheel won’t give you optimum efficiency. It’s the same with gliders they will perform much better (when they reached their optimum shape design) by loading them precisely. I think 95 is a good balance under the Sector S size. 

Of course the Sector S can be flown at mid-weight, but will loose it’s inside pressure flying it in turbulent air, as all other gliders do in it’s category.  

The brakes have medium pressure  until 15 cm of pull then they are slightly heavier. The Sector S at my loads need 2 (two) centimeter of pull, to turn it !  The Sector is an agile glider that doesn’t dive in turns even when lowering the brakes while circling. It tries sometimes to get out of the turn if the brakes are released, and some weight shift would be also quite beneficial in tight small cores.  

I flew next to a Delta 3 MS and Alpina 3 S in order to know the overall performance of the Sector S. In weak thermals, ( less than 0.5 m/s) the Delta 3 MS and the Sector S are very close in climbing ability. 

You can look at the C comparison as it has been updated with the latest C wings for small details if you wish…

(http://ziadbassil.blogspot.com/2018/03/en-c-comparison-update-alpina-3.html

In well built thermals, I mean over 2 m/s, the Sector jumps upward like a powerful but well mannered horse ! It really climbs very fast ! I think it has one of the best climbing ability in those thermals like a high end C ! It doesn’t pitch back, it does very slightly pull you into the thermal with power ! I personally like that behavior ! Some pilots would like the calm surge behavior of the Alpina 3, some would like the ones on the sigma 10 or the slightly sharper one on the Sector S. 

In turbulent thermals, i found that the Sector behave like a small energetic kid. The risers are more nervous than the S10 in translating the airmass. Don’t understand me wrong, the Sector quality of telling you what’s going around is quite nice for sensible pilots. The informations of the air are transmitted mainly by the risers. I was finding the Delta 3 to be quite tame to my personal taste in feel under the glider. Some pilots over-heree loved the Delta 3 soft feel ! It’s about taste…The Sector is more informative. 

NOVA did mention that the Sector S is between the Mentor 5 and the Triton 2. I think it’s quite accurate, but i have to add, with a slight shift toward the Triton 2 S in feel underneath the Sector 2 which i think shares its DNA.  If you think that the Mentor 5 is quite lazy to your taste, you will find an interesting feel with some tasteful but quite manageable spices under the Sector 2. 

This has been said, i have to add also that the Sector 2 remains in the middle of the C class in terms of piloting level. It’s an easy C for a pilot who already has two full seasons on a hot B. 

Gliding properties:

For an aspect ratio of 6, the Sector S glide angle angle is similar to the Delta 3 MS at trim and especially at full bar, with 1 km/h faster on the Sector S if both gliders are similarly loaded. Trim speed is similar. 

Gliding in turbulent air, is as efficient on the Delta 3 as it is on the Sector S !  

The Sector S ridge racing and gliding in thermo-dynamics is quite efficient ! 

Big ears have moderate stability and reopen without pilot input on the S at 96 all up. 

Conclusion: The trailing edge look quite weird and wavy…but it could be a design for efficiency… The Sector S is an informative wing that shows you what the air is doing, but middle C glider in terms of piloting level. 

The strong point is the climb in good thermals, that showed me an impressive search toward the lift. A very good glide angle for the C category, at trim and especially at full bar, fast enough, handles well. 

A strong contender in the C category for sport class competitions, and interesting XC potential for sure !

This is only my opinion. Make your own !