Nova Performance Paragliders
| File:Nova Performance Paragliders Logo.png | |
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founder | Hannes Papesh |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Hermann Habe, Toni Bender |
| Products | Paragliders |
Number of employees | 110 |
| Website | www |
Nova Performance Paragliders is an Austrian manufacturer of aircraft located in Terfens. The firm focuses on designing and producing ready-to-fly paragliders.[1]
Established in 1989, Nova initially operated out of Innsbruck before relocating its headquarters to Terfens in 2010. By 2016, the workforce numbered 110 employees, with 95 based at the Mecsek Ballon KFT facility in Pécs, Hungary, and 15 stationed at the Terfens location.[2]
The original designer was Hannes Papesh, who co-founded the company alongside Hermann Habe and competitive paraglider pilot Toni Bender.[2][3]
History
The inaugural glider design, the Nova CXC, was crafted by Papesh using his mother's sewing machine at home. Initially, operations were conducted from the apartment of Wolfgang Lechner.[2]
In 1990, production responsibilities were assigned to Mecsek Ballon KFT in Pécs, Hungary. Prior to this, during the communist era, Mecsek Ballon specialized in manufacturing balloons and mountaineering apparel.[2]
Development encountered challenges; for example, the Nova Phantom model released in 1992 experienced technical issues that proved difficult to fix, leading to its replacement by the Nova Phönix.[2]
Paraglider pilot Christian Heinrich achieved victory at the 1999 World Paragliding Championships in Bramberg am Wildkogel, Austria, flying a Nova Krypton, although adverse weather conditions prevented official validation of the event.[2]
The year 2000 saw the launch of the Nova Argon, notable for its DHV certification and use of unsheathed Kevlar lines that significantly minimized aerodynamic drag. The subsequent introduction of the Nova Carbon in 2001 caused delays due to fabric supply shortages from manufacturers. In 2002, some Carbon wings developed porosity after delivery, resulting in rapid descents similar to parachutes. This defect was traced back to a substandard batch of fabric produced by a subcontracted factory. Nova addressed the issue by replacing 65 out of the 1,440 Carbon wings sold.[2]
By the mid-2000s, Nova offered a comprehensive range of gliders including beginner models like the Nova Phorus, intermediate wings such as the Nova Pheron and Nova Artax, performance-oriented models like the Nova Aeron and Nova Radon, as well as two-seater training gliders under the Nova Phor designation.[1]
In 2003, Hungarian pilot Szilard Forgo set a new world record for declared goal distance with a flight of 278.3 km (172.9 mi) on a Nova Aeron in Brazil.[2]
During the 2008 XContest competition season, pilots flying the Nova Mentor secured first, third, fourth, seventh, and eighth places.[2]
In 2011, the Nova Mentor 2 dominated standard class competitions within the DHV league; seven of the top ten pilots flew this model. Similarly, nine out of ten top-ranked gliders in XContest were Mentor 2s, including those in first through third positions.[2]
On May 10, 2012, Werner Luidolt completed a flight exceeding 200 km (223.90 km) on a Nova Ion 2 during the ION 2-Hundred Challenge, earning €5,135. Additionally, pilot Hans Tockner claimed victory at the Austrian XC championships flying a Nova Mentor 2.[4]
Also introduced in 2012 was the Nova SuSi, designed with simplicity as a priority—featuring straightforward construction methods, gentle flight behavior, and enhanced safety characteristics.[2][4]
The following year saw the release of the Nova Mentor 3. Hans Tockner once again dominated Austrian XC leagues across all classes and achieved an FAI triangle flight exceeding 263 km on July 16, 2013. Christoph Bessei secured German XC championships in both Standard and Junior categories flying a Nova Mentor. Urs Haari captured Swiss Standard and Sports class titles on a Nova Mentor 3. Mauro Pianaro won Italy’s Sports class cross-country championship piloting a Nova Factor 2.[5]
On June 8, 2014, Berni Pessl accomplished the first-ever FAI triangle exceeding 300 km on an EN-B paraglider using his Nova Mentor 3. That same year marked co-founder and designer Hannes Papesh’s departure after twenty-five years; Philipp Medicus succeeded him as head designer.[5]
In 2015 Nova expanded production by opening a paraglider manufacturing plant in Vietnam. Team pilot Robert Schaller flew his Nova Prion 3 to complete an FAI triangle over 200 km (124 mi), covering 209.2 km (130 mi).[5]
The introduction of the Nova Phantom came in 2016. In Brazil, Joe Edlinger achieved an open-distance world record for EN-B class paragliders by flying 435 km on this model.[5]
Released in 2017 was the Nova Mentor 5; Berni Pessl secured his fourth consecutive victory atop XContest.org’s worldwide standard class rankings that year.[5]
In 2018 Nova launched its EN-C class wing called the Nova Sector. Additionally, they introduced the innovative five-sided parachute known as the Nova Pentagon.[5]
Celebrating its thirtieth anniversary in 2019, Nova unveiled new wing designs and published its inaugural issue of Airtime, its company magazine. That year also saw releases including the Nova Mentor 6 and Mentor 6 Light variants, along with models such as the Nova Doubleskin and Nova Bantam. Furthermore, Nova Team Pilot Stefan Lauth and his wife set a tandem paragliding world record by flying 233.23 km (145 mi) on a flight beginning at Grente that lasted nine hours aboard a Nova Bion 2.[5]
In 2020 Nova introduced their high-performance EN-A class wing named Nova Aonic. The EN-B category received an update with the launch of the Nova Ion 6 model. That year also marked their debut reversible harness called Itus.[5]
Aircraft
An overview of aircraft developed by Nova includes:
- Nova Aeron
- Nova Aonic
- Nova Argon
- Nova Artax
- Nova Axon
- Nova Bantam
- Nova Bion
- Nova Carbon
- Nova CXC
- Nova Doubleskin
- Nova Factor
- Nova Glitch
- Nova Ibex
- Nova Ion
- Nova Ion Light
- Nova Jamboo
- Nova Krypton
- Nova Mamboo
- Nova Mentor
- Nova Mentor Light
- Nova Oryx
- Nova Phantom
- Nova Pheron
- Nova Philou
- Nova Phocus
- Nova Phönix
- Nova Phor
- Nova Phorus
- Nova Primax
- Nova Prion
- Nova RA
- Nova Radon
- Nova Rookie
- Nova Rotor
- Nova Sector
- Nova Shockwave
- Nova Speedmax
- Nova Susi
- Nova Susi Q
- Nova Syntax
- Nova Tattoo
- Nova Trend
- Nova Triton
- Nova Tycoon
- Nova X-ACT
- Nova Xenon
- Nova Xyon
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003–04, page 23. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. Template:ISSN
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 "Milestones". nova.eu. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
- ↑ "Milestones". nova.eu. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Nova Performance Paragliders (2012). "2012 – ION 2-Hundred Challenge and SuSi (Super-Simple)". nova.eu. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 "Milestones". www.nova.eu.
External links
