To reach cross country pilots they worked a lot on the Nova Factor Performance in accelerated flight. If we talk about performance we don’t simply mean glide ratio in calm air, but also stability. Because in practical use you need a wing which is stable enough to fly accelerated in turbulent air without collapsing or loosing a lot of performance because of small deformations. The Factor is very stable in accelerated flight with superior performance. The Nova Factor Performance in accelerated flight is even better than on the TYCOON.
Technical changes:
The following characteristics have been changed, compared to the RA, its predecessor:
* Higher wing curve and shorter lines: This leads to higher tension as well as better and more direct handling characteristic in turns.
* Changed suspension geometry: The FACTOR has 4 line levels (A to D), 3 stem lines and triple lines in the upper cascade. This reduces the complexity of the canopy, as well as the weight. The 3 unsuspended center cells enable better response to weight shift.
* Integrated vector band: A vector band behind the cell openings enables a very good shape of this important part of the wing.
* Adapted line diameter: According to the load we use a perfect suited line diameter. For example we use 3 different types of lines on the A stem lines. Like this we reach a perfect load distribution which leads to a constant trim. Apart from this we could reduce the line drag.
What stayed the same:
* the flat aspect ratio
Nova Factor Safety
Superior handling and great performance isn’t worth too much, if the reactions of the Nova Factor Safety overburden the target group of a wing. Of course we wanted to avoid this. We used a well proven airfoil, which is characterised by a very smooth collapse and reopening. Further more, it is easy to maintain direction, even after a big asymmetric collapse.
We flew the Factor for many hours in several sizes with different wing loadings in very turbulent conditions and we were quite happy to see that the soft collapse behaviour, we could discover with provoked collapses stays the same in practical flight. In the end, this is what counts.
A pilot, who has internalised active flying and basic manoeuvres like dynamic turns, will experience unspectacular and calculable nova factor safety behaviour.
