Terminankündigung: Online-Vortrag von Philipp Medicus zum Thema „2.5 Liner and new ways in paraglider design“ (auf ENGLISCH)
Am Montag, den 28. März um 19.30 Uhr (MEZ), erklärt NOVA-Konstrukteur Philipp Medicus die Unterschiede zwischen konventionellen Schirmen und Hybrid 2,5-Leinern wie dem neuen MENTOR 7 Light.
– Welche neuen Möglichkeiten gibt es in der Entwicklung bzw. in der Simulation von Gleitschirmen?
– Wie profitiert der MENTOR 7 Light als 2,5-Leiner davon?
– Was sind die Eigenschaften, bzw. die Vor-, und Nachteile des 2,5-Leiner Konzepts?
– Wie fliegen sich 2,5-Leiner?
– Sind sie für den Piloten anspruchsvoller?
Philipp Medicus hat Maschinenbau studiert und leitet das Entwicklungs-Team von NOVA. Aus seiner „Feder“ stammen unter anderem Schirme wie BANTAM, ION oder XENON – und jetzt der neue MENTOR 7 Light.
Der Vortrag findet online als Livestream auf YouTube statt www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE1Gn7ynDL4 und wird auch aufgezeichnet. So kann man ihn auch später noch anschauen. Fragen stellen kann aber nur, wer live dabei ist.
Diese ist die achte Folge der interaktiven Online-Vorträge „NOVA Insights”. Sie richten an ALLE Gleitschirmpiloten, unabhängig von der Marke des Schirms, den sie fliegen. Bei den Insights geht es um die Weitergabe von Wissen und Erfahrung sowie vor allem um die Begeisterung für das Gleitschirmfliegen. Jede Folge dauert etwa 1 bis 1,5 Stunden. Die Zuschauer können aktiv mitmachen und im Chat Fragen stellen (für den Zugang zum Chat braucht man ein YouTube-Konto).
Auf der YouTube-Playlist https://youtu.be/1qD7zP8rRlk können alle bisherigen Episoden angeschaut werden können (einige auf Englisch, einige auf Deutsch).
In 1991 Robbie Whittal was crowned the first ever Paragliding World Champion.
We are therefore delighted to be able to celebrate thirty years of World Championships here in Argentina. This competition is particularly special as, even just a few weeks ago, nobody thought it would happen. Meet Director Sergio Bujazha and General Organiser, Matias Fortini, have earnt their places in the paragliding history books for undertaking to organise what, at times, felt like Mission Impossible.
The competition will start on Tuesday the 2nd of November. There will be a maximum of 10 competition flying days with the prize giving on the 13th of November.
The competition is being held close to the town of San Miguel de Tucumán in northern Argentina, 1,250km northwest of Buenos Aires. The pilots will be taking off from the 1350m high jungle ridge of Loma Bola, which is where the flats meet the foothills of the Andes. The pilots will be flying tasks over flat farmland out in front, creeper covered slopes and arid flat lands to the north.
The FAI Paragliding World Championship is held every two years. It gives a nations and individual championship title.
Each national team consists of a maximum of 5 pilots (including 1 woman), with the 2 best scoring. Pilots who haven’t been selected for their national team can still compete as long as they too meet the FAI selection criteria.
This World Championship is going to be a chance for a lot of the up-and-coming newer pilots to prove their place in their national team. 150 pilots and 37 countries will be competing.
Three South American teams stand out as being contenders for the podium. Argentina is a clear favourite with a very thermic team and a lot of local knowledge. Brazil and Colombia are also fielding full teams with a lot of very current pilots.
From Europe, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Switzerland are all fielding full teams of four male and one female pilot. They have taken part in a lot of the World Cups which have restarted recently in Europe.
There are a lot of smaller, but perfectly formed teams, which will also be well worth watching, North Macedonia and Serbia to mention but two.
From Asia, team Japan is here and hungry for more medals. South Korea have so far won all the medals for spending the most time in the air to get here: 120 hours each. Hopefully after a change of aircraft, their next stop will be the team podium.
The pilots from the United States hold the record for the most cancelled flights. Wing tips crossed, their flights over the next two weeks will all take off on schedule.
The French team are a favourite, but Loma Bola is very different to the Alpine conditions many of their team players are used to. Team Germany have an essential ingredient; some of the most experienced pilots and veterans of this competition. A team competition often relies on tactics and knowledge of how to work as team players, rather than just individuals.
On an individual basis, some of the favourites taking part: 2018 European Champion, Theo Warden; 2017 World Champion, Pierre Remy; 2016 European and 2015 World Champion Honorin Hamard; 2014 European Champion Torsten Siegel; 2012 European Champion Yassen Savov.
Keen to get a good overall ranking and a place on the ladies’ podium will be Seiko Fukuoka-Neville, former ladies’ European and World Champion; former ladies’ World Champion, Klaudia Bulgakow; and former ladies’ European and World Champion, Petra Slivova.
The 2020 Pan-American Champion, Rafael Saladini, from Brazil, and Shauin Kao from Argentina, are also favourites along with Keiko Hiraki, the 2012 Asian Champion.
As far as the scoring is concerned, each pilot’s score is comprised of three parts: Distance points, Time points and Lead outpoints. Each day is scored out of a maximum of 1000 points.
Das Weltcup Superfinale in Disentis, Schweiz, ist in vollem Gange, und drei unserer Teampiloten fliegen dort ein radikal neues Gurtzeug-Design: Die Submarine.
Unser Ozone Designer Luc Armant erzählt uns dazu Folgendes:
„The idea behind this project was to drastically reduce drag by creating a fully inflated enclosure around the pilot without compromising safety.
I made the first version in 2006. It was a funny little yellow proto which I flew in some local competitions and people started calling it “the yellow submarine”. This was before I came to Ozone — at that time I also designed one for Bruce Goldsmith which he used for the World Championships in 2007.
We restarted the project again in 2017, and there were major structural and aerodynamic problems to solve in order for it to be a viable product. A huge amount of computer work and modelling was carried out by co-designer, Fred Pieri, to develop and test prototypes.
We barely managed to finish three harnesses for the Superfinal before our factory had to close due to Covid. We haven’t had much time to train with them or fully evaluate the performance but we feel this generation is finally ready to be tested at the highest level of competition.“
Wir gehen davon aus, dass die Entwicklungsarbeit an diesem Projekt über die Monate des Superfinals hinweg andauern wird.
Das gesamte Ozone Team sendet ein Cheers und die besten Wünsche für alle Piloten des Superfinals. Wir freuen uns schon auf das Rennen!
Im Rahmen des jährlichen Pilots Team Meeting zeichnete NOVA wieder Piloten aus, die sich um die Marke besonders verdient gemacht haben. Geehrt wurden für die Saison 2021 die beiden Deutschen Andi Ziegler und Markus Kaup, Hans Tockner aus der Steiermark sowie der Osttiroler Manuel Ploner als „Newcomer of the Year“.
Nikolaus “Niki” Kurcz will be NOVA’s new Managing Director
As Sissi Eisl will be going on maternity leave at the end of November 2021, in recent months NOVA has been seeking a suitable replacement for the role of Managing Director. With Niki Kurcz (33), co-owner and currently Production Manager, NOVA has succeeded in finding a replacement from within its own ranks!
Niki Kurcz knows NOVA inside out. After an internship, he initially worked for NOVA on a project basis and then joined the team permanently with a Master’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering in his pocket. Until now, he has been responsible for the production area – a role which he will continue. In order not to overload him in his new position as Managing Director, NOVA has created a new parallel position – from now on Florina Eller will support Team NOVA as Project Manager.
This is how Niki Kurcz puts it: “I am very much looking forward to the challenge and it makes me somewhat proud that the other owners have placed this trust in me. We are a strong team and I really enjoy working at NOVA. As Managing Director, however, I don’t see myself as the captain who decides all by myself where the journey goes. We will continue to work as a team, because we have colleagues in all areas who are competent and also great people.” Niki will continue to focus heavily on production and adds: “Production is the biggest challenge for the entire industry at the moment. The current situation, with limited availability of certain components as well as drastic corona lockdown measures is anything but easy. Manufacturing and product availability are key to a successful 2022.”
PS: Sissi thanks customers, dealers, co-owners and employees for five action-packed years at NOVA. She will continue to keep an eye on us – whether we are doing it all right. 🙂
NOVA and Nicola “Nick” Donini announce the start of a long-term cooperation. The 25-year-old took part in the Red Bull X-Alps last summer on a NOVA XENON – so both partners know each other well and appreciate each other. In future, the Italian will act as a brand ambassador for NOVA, will fly NOVA gliders in the cross-country online leagues, as well as in serial class and hike & fly competitions. He will also support the test pilot team with Fabian Gasteiger, Ferdi Vogel and Toni Bender as a lightweight pilot.
In 2020, NOVA started working with Théo de Blic which was a striking and, for some insiders within the paragliding community, a surprising rejuvenation process of the tradition-rich brand. This path will be continued with a cooperation with Nicola Donini.
This is no mere sponsoring. Nick Donini will primarily support NOVA Italia with Peter Gebhard and Heidi Insam as brand ambassador. In the future, he will participate in the XC online contests, in hike & fly races as well as classic serial class comps (e.g. Zillertal Battle, Serial Cup) on NOVA gliders. Furthermore, he will support the NOVA R&D team with Fabian Gasteiger, Ferdi Vogel and Toni Bender as a test pilot. As Nick is a very lightweight athlete, his recruitment underlines NOVA’s commitment to build small gliders that perform as well as the larger sizes. Nick will also contribute pictures and videos for social media and marketing purposes.
Both partners are very happy with the cooperation. After all, they got to know each other well during their collaboration at the Red Bull X-Alps 2021 and came to appreciate each other in the process.
NOVA Managing Director Sissi Eisl explains: “Nick is one of the most talented and versatile young pilots – and a really fine guy to boot. With our cooperation we want to support him so that he can focus even more on his sport as well as his goals and take the next steps in his career. Nick and NOVA is all a good fit!”
Nick Donini adds, “I am very excited to join this great team. I know what to expect and I’m as excited about the people at NOVA as I am about the new products like XENON or MENTOR 7. I see a great future for the company and I’m looking forward to helping shape it a bit.”
Nicola Donini is the son of Luca Donini, one of Italy’s all-time paragliding heroes and world-champion in 2001. Therefore, there seems to be some kind of a paragliding gene in the Donini family. At the age of 4, Luca took Nick on his first tandem flight. Ever since, little Nick was psyched about flying. Growing up on the shore of Lago di Molveno (Italy’s prime acro spot), just below the famous and beautiful Brenta and Paganella mountains, he found the best opportunities to develop into a world class acro, XC and comp pilot.
Nick is a highly accomplished acro pilot (five times Italian champion) as well as a superb comp pilot (Italian champion 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017). In 2018, he was 2nd in the PWC Superfinal. In the summer of 2021, he took part in the Red Bull X-Alps with the NOVA XENON, but was forced to withdraw due to a rough landing after almost flying into a cable car. His emotional career highlight was becoming Italian champion 2016, a ranking shared with his father Luca.
