The company was founded in 1989 and originally located in Innsbruck. In 2010 the company relocated its headquarters to Terfens. By 2016 the company had 110 employees, including 95 in the Mecsek Ballon KFT Hungarian production plant in Pécs and 15 in Terfens.[2]
The company's first designer was Hannes Papesh. Other founders were Hermann Habe and competitive paraglider pilot Toni Bender.[2][3]
The company's first design, the Nova CXC was sewn by Papesh on his mother's home sewing machine. The company initially operated from Wolfgang Lechner's apartment.[2]
In 1990 the company established a manufacturing relationship with Mecsek Ballon KFT in the Hungarian town of Pécs to take on production. In the communist era Mecsek Ballon had been a balloon and mountaineer clothing manufacturer.[2]
Glider development was not without problems. In 1992 the Nova Phantom developed technical problems that could not be easily resolved and was replaced in the line by the Nova Phönix.[2]
The Nova Argon introduced in 2000 was DHV certified with unsheathed Kevlar lines, which greatly reduced drag in flight. The introduction of the Nova Carbon in 2001 resulted in delays filling customer orders as demand exceeded the ability of the fabric manufacturer to provide the cloth for construction. In 2002 The Carbon wing developed porosity in the field after delivery to customers, resulting in parachute-like descents. The fault lay with a batch of fabric which the fabric manufacturer had sub-contracted to a new factory and which had produced a sub-standard product. Nova replaced 65 Carbon wings of the 1440 sold that had developed issues.[2]
In 2003 Hungarian paraglider pilot Szilard Forgo flew a new world record to a declared goal of 278.3km (172.9mi) flying a Nova Aeron in Brazil.[2]
The 2008 contest season XContest resulted in the Nova Mentor being flown by the first-, third-, fourth-, seventh- and eighth-place finishers.[2]
In 2011 the Nova Mentor 2 dominated the standard class in the DHV league, with Mentor 2 pilots taking seven of the top ten places. In the XContest nine of the top ten gliders flown were Mentor 2s, including the top three.[2]
On the 10 May 2012, Werner Luidolt flew the 200 km mark (223.90 km) on a Nova Ion 2 and won 5,135 euros in the ION 2-Hundred Challenge. The Nova Mentor was also successful in standard class competition. Pilot Hans Tockner even won the Austrian XC championships on a Mentor 2.[4]
In 2012 the Nova SuSi was also introduced. The SuSi (SuperSimple) is a simple design with an emphasis on simple construction, benign flying characteristics and a high degree of safety.[2][4]
2013 the next version of the Nova Mentor came to market: The Mentor 3. Hans Tockner again won all classes of the Austrian XC league and also flew an FAI triangle of over 263 km on 16 July 2013. Christoph Bessei became the German XC champion in the Standard and Junior class on his Nova Mentor. Urs Haari won the Swiss Standard and Sports class on a Nova Mentor 3. Mauro Pianaro won the Sports class of the Italian cross-country championships on a Nova Factor 2. [5]
On 8 June 2014, Berni Pessl flew the first FAI triangle over 300 km ever done on an EN-B paraglider using his Nova Mentor 3. In 2014 designer and Nova co-founder Hannes Papesh left the company after 25 years. Philipp Medicus took over the position of head designer.[5]
In 2015 Nova expanded and opened a paraglider factory in Vietnam. Team pilot Robert Schaller and his Nova Prion 3 flew the first FAI triangle over 200km (124mi), completing 209.2km (130mi).[5]
In 2016 the Nova Phantom was introduced to the market. In Brazil, Joe Edlinger flew 435 km open distance on the Phantom, which was a world record in the EN-B class.[5]
The Nova Mentor 5 came out in 2017. Berni Pessl won the XContest.org world-wide standard class ranking, for the fourth time in a row.[5]
The EN-C wing Nova Sector came out in 2018. Also, Nova introduced the Nova Pentagon, which was the first five-sided parachute.[5]
2019, Nova was 30 years old and introduced a new wing design. Also NOVA published the first issue of the house magazine Airtime. The Nova Mentor 6, Nova Mentor 6 Light, Nova Doubleskin and Nova Bantam came out in 2019. Also in 2019, a world record for tandem paragliding was set of 233.23km (145mi), flown by Nova Team Pilot Stefan Lauth and his wife. The flight with the Nova Bion 2 began at the Grente and lasted for nine hours.[5]
In 2020, Nova introduced the high end EN-A Nova Aonic wing. In the EN-B class the Nova Ion 6 came out. Nova's first reversible harness, the Itus was introduced.[5]
A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air flying machine, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using aerodynamic lift. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft, and ornithopters. The wings of a fixed-wing aircraft are not necessarily rigid; kites, hang gliders, variable-sweep wing aircraft, and airplanes that use wing morphing are all classified as fixed wing.
Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or in a cocoon-like 'pod' suspended below a fabric wing. Wing shape is maintained by the suspension lines, the pressure of air entering vents in the front of the wing, and the aerodynamic forces of the air flowing over the outside.
Powered paragliding, also known as paramotoring or PPG, is a form of ultralight aviation where the pilot wears a back-pack motor which provides enough thrust to take off using a paraglider. It can be launched in still air, and on level ground, by the pilot alone—no assistance is required.
The Advanced Soaring Concepts Falcon, also called the Advanced Soaring Concepts American Falcon, is an American mid-wing, T-tailed, single-seat, FAI 15-Metre Class glider that was designed by Tor Jensen and produced by Advanced Soaring Concepts, and first flew in 1993. The aircraft was produced as a kit for amateur construction.
The Advanced Soaring Concepts Spirit, also called the Advanced Soaring Concepts American Spirit, is an American mid-wing, T-tailed. single-seat, FAI Standard Class glider that was designed by Tor Jensen and produced by Advanced Soaring Concepts, first flying in 1992. The aircraft was produced in kit form for amateur construction.
Competition classes in gliding, as in other sports, mainly exist to ensure fairness in competition. However the classes have not been targeted at fostering technological development as in other sports. Instead classes have arisen because of:
Péter Besenyei is a Hungarian aerobatics pilot and world champion air racer.
A foot-launched powered hang glider (FLPHG), also called powered harness, nanolight, or hangmotor, is a powered hang glider harness with a motor and propeller often in pusher configuration, although some can be found in tractor configuration. An ordinary hang glider is used for its wing and control frame, and the pilot can foot-launch from a hill or from flat ground, needing a length of about a football field to get airborne, or much less if there is an oncoming breeze and no obstacles.
The SZD-56 Diana is a 15 metre Class glider originally designed by Bogumił Bereś at PZL-Bielsko. However, PZL Bielsko went bankrupt before it could be put into serial production.
The International Gliding Commission (IGC) is the international governing body for the sport of gliding. It is governed by meetings of delegates from national gliding associations.
George B. Moffat Jr. is an American author, twice world champion glider pilot, and a member of the U.S. Soaring Hall of Fame. He began flying airplanes in 1953, gliders in 1959, entered his first national soaring competition in 1962, and was still an active competition pilot as of 2008. Before competing in sailplanes, he compiled a winning record in International 14 foot Dinghy racing and is still an active sailor.
Paul F. Bikle was director of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Dryden Flight Research Facility from 1959 until 1971, and author of more than 40 technical publications. He was associated with major aeronautical research programs including the hypersonic X-15 rocket plane, and was a world record-setting glider pilot.
Sebastian Kawa is a Polish glider pilot, seventeen-time World Champion, FAI world leading glider competition pilot and the current World Champion in 15m Class and European gliding champion in 18m Class.
A glider is a fixed-wing aircraft that is supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against its lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an engine. Most gliders do not have an engine, although motor-gliders have small engines for extending their flight when necessary by sustaining the altitude with some being powerful enough to take off by self-launch.
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.
Judy Leden, MBE is a British hang glider and paraglider pilot. She has held three world champion titles, twice in hang gliding, once in paragliding.
The Nova Pheron is an Austrian single-place paraglider that was designed by Hannes Papesch and produced by Nova Performance Paragliders of Innsbruck. It is now out of production.
The Nova Phorus is an Austrian single-place paraglider that was designed by Hannes Papesch and produced by Nova Performance Paragliders of Innsbruck. It is now out of production.
The PRS One is a German single-place paraglider that was produced by Pilots Right Stuff (PRS) of Brannenburg, starting in 2000. It was designed with outside contract assistance. The glider is now out of production.
The Ozone Enzo is a French single-place two-line competition paraglider that was designed by Luc Armant and produced by Ozone Gliders. Two-line gliders have only A and B lines and lack the C or D lines traditionally used on paragliders, in an attempt to reduce aerodynamic drag. In 2020 the Enzo remained in production as the Enzo 3 variant.
References
1 2 Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003–04, page 23. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. ISSN1368-485X
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