NOVA ION 3 S (80-100)

NOVA Ion 3 S (80-100)

Having flown the Ion 1 and Ion 2 here is the Ion 3 test flight.

Nova has already proven with the Ion 2 its ability to make some long XC flying with a large passive safety. They claim that the Ion 3 is targeted to the same group of pilots wanting more performance without the stress of a high aspect ratio glider.

The glider just arrived and I am already on the take off.

Construction:
On the Ion 3 unsheathed lines are found at the top and normal on the bottom main lines. I could see a clean 3 line construction without any splits on the C .

Digging my ‘hard nose’ inside the NOVA ‘Air scoop’ cells of the Ion 3 to check the construction, I can see that you could expect a quality beyond questioning on the ION 3. The workmanship on this glider and on recent NOVA gliders is really remarkable.

Launching the Ion3 is straightforward and at 95 all up I was immediately airborne even with a light breeze.

In the air:
First thermal and first contact in the air on board the ION 3 S size loaded at 95,showed a very quick brake response.
After the first 10 cm slack from the pulleys, the glider can be turned on the second 10 cm travel and it doesn't need more !
It is weird for me to experience that on a low B glider.

I have tried to dig the brake 40 cm lower just to make sure it doesn’t spin…. But it does seem to be a forgiving B glider.

The pressure on the 10 cm travel needed to steer the glider is average, just like on the Ion 2, but pulling +10 cm more showed a hard brake pressure.

In thermals the glider is easy to place inside the core with just those 10-12 cm .

Roll response is present on the Ion 3 slightly more than on the Ion 2. But the pilot feels its passive safety, as it doesn’t have some high angle surges. Just moving above the pilot’s head…

In entering the thermals, the Ion 1 would pitch back a little, the Ion 2 would have a slightly more neutral pitch, but the Ion 3 has a slight forward pitch, as it seems to reach for the thermals. A nice feature for discovering the higher rated gliders.

The Ion 3 seems to have its entire load on the A’s and B’s. At trim speed, the C lines are nearly loose. It is another concept from the Ion 2.

The speed travel is long for the category and I was able to get +12 km/h over trim speed.
The pressure is similar to the Ion 2, which has a relatively average pressure.

Big ears are stable and reopen on their own.

The performance seems nice for this low-end B.
I have to make more flights along new low-end B’s to be more sure.
But it seems that at second bar the glide doesn’t deteriorate like on the Ion 2 ! It feels more faster with a more interesting horizontal glide !


More feedback,

Today i was hoping to get a long glide with the Buzz Z4 with same loadings, but the conditions weren’t so ideal for comparing. But after some hours in the air, here is what i found more :

Climbing :
Flying the Ion 3 S today with ballast at 96 all up.
First it was a bit windy and in those conditions when on a thermal and facing the wind, the Ion 3 as a low B glider behaves like the class above in surfing upward the air with each turn.It means that the leading edge would convert the lift to a nice climb.This characteristic was not really found before on the low B gliders i have tested.

Going in some turbulent conditions the Ion 3 moves above the pilots head but won’t go far, and after a while the pilot will get a solid confidence !

At the end of the day, i dropped the 3 kg ballast to get to 93 all up.The brake pressure felt a little less tiring and the glider was surely a better floater, that could easily be compared to the class above ! in terms of climbing efficiency.

The Ion 3 doesn’t require a heavy approach. If the pilot will let it fly, without too much brake input, it will ‘surf’ the air in a very efficient glide for its low B category ! I think it is designed for XC flights in mind.

The glide test is coming soon, but it seems that the Ion 3 has some impressive glide angle for its category, especially into wind transitions and at bar !
Just to tease you a bit
Soon…


AND more interesting feedback !!!

I was very excited to do the Mentor 3 Ion 3 glide for the past month ! As i knew there was something special here …But couldn’t write anything before, being sure.
Now after many glides at trim and accelerated in headwind and difficult conditions, I can confirm that the glide at trim and at 45 km/h are identical !!

-In climbing ability the Mentor 3 still has a light edge.
-The overall handling and maneuverability is also on the M3 side..
-The total comfort and smoothness in flight is on the Ion 3 side.

IMHO, ‘Any’ low en-B pilot looking for some top performance in the (High and low B) category would miss NOT to try that Ion 3 just to feel what i talking about !
And i wonder how it could be done .... and why there are still some 'very' high aspect ratio gliders other than for top high speed gliding …

 

Triple Seven Queen M

Triple Seven Queen M

Finally the Queen arrived. Directly for the box to the take off…I saw the size 85-104 . Being a bit far form the ideal weight, I ballasted up to 102 !

Conditions of the day were …amazing !!! Thermals lifted us to +1000m above take off , and long glides were made…

Takeoff : I didn’t find any particular thing to say ! The glider has a very quick and nice take off behavior !

In the air : Having flown the carrera M, and S size with the Delta M and SM size plus also 90% of C glider, ☺ I could describe the Queen very precisely !

Handling is …a dream. Oups…
Ok…Lets explain. The Queen doesn’t dive in turns .The handling versus the Delta M size is on the side of the Queen.
As it could be described as : Linear, crisp, precise and easy to induce the turns. That’s with homogenous thermals.
In some nasty sudden and swift cores, it needs some little more time to get it in the right turn.
Strangely, and i wasn’t expecting it…I found that the Queen is more comfortable to fly in most conditions than a Carrera M, S, or a Delta SM… Saying that, i felt that the Queen stays always above the pilots head with some impressive passive safety for this class of gliders.

I thought that it would have some sharper reactions, but it is a tamer glider to fly than many C’s i have tested.

Doing some long glides with a Carrera M loaded at 99 all up, and taking into account that the Carrera M have a very small or slight better into wind glide than a Delta 2, I found at first that the trim speed of Queen at 102 is less by some insignificant amount…May be - 0.15 km/h,only showed on long glides.
But surprisingly and after those long into wind glides…The queen has the upper hand with also that slight edge over the Carrera M !
Other pilots would find them all alike..But long glides will show that very small edge !

Climb rate :
Loaded at 102 on the M size Queen, i found that it has a very slight, or small delay to cut through the strong thermal in head wind, with the glider being very docile to handle!
But i would have preferred a more leading edge attack !

The Queen also doesn’t like to be loaded at 102 in weak conditions. I found after a the 3rd hour that i should dump the ballast a bit.
Getting rid of ±3.5 kg, the Queen showed some excellent climb in 0.3 m/s …and helped me some crazy low saves in order to get back home !

Flying the Queen at 99 all up, the handling becomes even smoother, and the ability to core the weak thermals did in fact put a smile on my face as it reminded me of my old Airwave Xmx comp glider. The feeling is like a glider that doesn’t loose anything in one narrow thermal with always a positive vario with no loss in climbing efficiency.

Gliding at first and second bar showed some excellent performances that puts the Queen on top of the C category for now or should i say ‘easily’ on par with the best C gliders out there !

The top speed on the M size Queen loaded at 102 i have here has ±3 km/h faster than a Delta 2 SM and ±4 km/h more than a Carrera M size loaded at 99.

Wing overs are nice and are also a fast descent method !
Big ears are easy and relatively stable ,they open with a slight brake touch.

Conclusion : Easy to manage, comfortable, coupled with amazing performances. Triple seven has indeed a winner in the C category.It is a shame that i didn’t get one before !
On this glider, no one will have an excuse on long XC’s for messing up if ‘carefully loaded’ ! 

This video below is from yesterday's flight.
It is a long one but the pilot can see the gliders in the air.

Today i have flown the Queen at 99 all up and flew also with my friend on a longer flight with his Carrera at 99 also. If the climb rate is not the strongest point of the Queen, we are more sure today that the Queen has the 'BEST' glide into wind at first bar (48-50 km/h) of the speed travel in the C category !
And this my fellow pilots is a real fact
Cheers,   

  

Ozone Ozium

Ozone Ozium
First, i am not an expert in super light pod harnesses !
I can only compare it with the Advance lightness.
Because this one is super ‘duper’ light and i could find just the necessary things to hold me into this pod harness.

Seat adjustment with folding lines, and no seat board.
Sitting in the L size harness and M pod, with my 1.81 and 75 kg is just ok.

Proper time is needed to adjust it.
I could only say that it was a bit less comfortable than the Lightness i had, but not everyone could agree as we all have different body shapes…

This is surely a very light pod harness with back protection for fly and hike around the world with just the needed items to be airborne.
Feels like you’re in the X-Alps

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Lightness pluses : comfort, feels solid.

Lightness minuses : Back protection, chest strap adjustments, getting on board.

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Ozium pluses : Light, Back protection, Chest strap adjustment, Getting on board, rescue system.

Ozium minuses : Feels very minimalistic (May be it’s me), hard seat adjustments, a bit less comfortable than the lightness.

                                                                                                              

Gin Carrera M & S

Gin Carrera 

I flew a bit the M size but will wait for the S size to get a larger idea for a more accurate  test report. 

Gin Carrera S
92 all up on the S size with a Woody Valley GTO harness, here i am flying the Carrera in a relatively weak to turbulent conditions sometimes especially on the higher layers, with 10 km/h north wind, making it interesting for discovering the ability of the flown gliders.
Having flown the M size at 98 all up, i found the S size at 92 to have a more direct handling of course ! And a bit more alive.
But the glider was completely pressurized and it wasn’t susceptible to deflation whatsoever like the lesser loaded M size i flew earlier.
Describing the handling is light on the first part with a 50 % more tension after 40 cm of travel. It is lighter than the Delta 2 SM with same loadings. And i could also confirm the same agility in thermals.
Both gliders are efficient in climb with no diving in turns.
I only could sense a slight float ability for the D2 in very weak thermals -0.2m/s …But the Carrera felt more floater in headwind glides or on its ability in searching forward for thermals !
Strangely the Atlas had that superb ability as if this technology is indeed present on those new generation Gin gliders.
If you ask me which is the most comfortable in overall conditions ?
The Delta 2 feels more compact above your head, but when the conditions get rough, sharp surges must be controlled to prevent the collapses.
On the same conditions the Carrera moves even in small conditions letting its pilot immediately presume that it is more alive. Actually i found that even in strong and bumpy conditions the Carrera doesn’t have that sharp quick reaction in turbulence like the D2. It just roll a bit more, but in a smoother way, letting its pilot feel that it is still above his head giving him that increased passive safety feeling.
Both are pitch stable, and the roll is more pronounced on the Carrera.
The movements are different from a sharp reaction like the Trango XC2, and closer to a Cayenne 4 with more ease and prompt brake control.
The glide is similar or slightly better in lift lines than a Trango XC2 or a D2 with the ability to cut through the valley breeze even better than some 2012 ‘C’ gliders …Letting the Carrera free to surf the air without too much braking is the way to go.
However the top speed is only 11 km over trim speed, even with the pulleys over-passing.
In this configuration, the Carrera seems solid and usable with the first part of the travel which is light but the second part of the travel is a bit hard.
Pulling a bit on the A’s in full accelerator mode showed that an average pull is needed to get the leading edge lowered a bit but without any sign of collapse.
Gin may have reduced the top speed for certification purposes.
Big ears with the outer A’s are easy to pull .The opening is required by the pilot.
Big ears with B3 are easy doable and practically has the same sink rate as the outer A’s but the opening is quite faster.
360’s get you down quickly .No real surges in getting out. Wing overs on the S are nice to make and could be very high.
Conclusion :
Over the years, gliders has evolved in design and technology. Marketing also has caught up.
Seeing and flying many high-end B’s, it seems logical that this leap in marketing strategy will eventually be present.
The Carrera is for me a superb glider that has everything a good intermediate pilot could wish for, except for the top speed…
The ‘psychological B rating effect’ could have a positive impact on the ‘C’ category pilots flying the Carrera.
There’s no ‘B’ available yet that has the same into wind performance or the same roll understanding…
One season on a high-end B, is needed before jumping on a Carrera.
Happy landings,
Ziad

Small clarification: 
The Carrera got a B certification. What does that mean ? ...Only that it has very good reactions and behavior in a simulated collapse in calm air .
This is an excellent glider that must be respected as it is.
A pilot with enough experience and + 75 hours / year , can (extract) safely its performances.
The others with less experience will be busy keeping it controlled overhead in strong conditions and won't eventually use it's performance !

That's why there's a lesser AR glider and manufacturer guidance that can allow many pilots to go for the Atlas which in my humble opinion is one of the best well balanced B glider of the moment ! as it has enough performance to satisfy nearly all Low B and some high B pilots.

Difference in comfort the air between Carrera M, Mentor 3 S, Chili 3 S, goes in favor of the M3, then the Carrera and Chili 3 are comfortably equal in punchy air with better authority control for the Carrera to place it exactly by the brakes. (must be loaded at 98 - 100 on the M )
To compare a Carrera M to a Mentor 3 or a Chili 3 would be unfair ,because the Carrera will show it's potential in head wind glides and move forward like high aspect ratio gliders do...

The Carrera is intended for experienced pilots who needs the psychological safety of a B with the superb performance of a C glider.