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Nova Mentor

by Anonymous

Are there any other pilots out there who would like to share their experiences on the Nova Mentor with me, both good and bad? I have had my best flights on this wing, it thermals well and the glide is good also. However, the recovery from bad situations for me at present is a hand full.

I have been flying 6 years over 500 plus hrs of which 300 has been thermal. I bought the Nova Mentor earlier this and have done 60 to 70 hrs on it.

Three times now it has had major frontal collapses on me.

The first I was at a good height and the wing had a cravat in it which I got out by stalling the wing.

The second was not long after launching and again was extremely dynamic in its collapse and eventual recovery.

On the 3rd occasion, the recovery was not going to happen in time so I had to throw my reserve. The left wing tip again being in a cravat and I had entered a flat spin with at least 3 to 4 riser twists. To say the least I am finding the Nova Mentor to be a hand full!

Comments for
Nova Mentor

Average Rating starstarstarstarstar

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Rating
starstarstarstar 		Frontstalls
by: Tom

I've had about 30 hrs on my Mentor. I'm glad i could sell it this autumn. Although it is a very nice glider in quiet air, when circumstance are a bit rougher it does't know how to deal with it. The leading edge is nervous but it doesn't communicate it through the lines, until you suddenly get a big frontstall. I never had such big frontstalls in my 10 years flying career.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Very interesting....
by: Anonymous

Well, here's the propaganda from a sales site. It is designed as a hot 1/2 but of course the tests are induced simulations, not out there in the rough stuff. However, I understand that manufacturers put their designs through much more than the test organizations.

"Slightly changed airfoil shape leads to softer collapses and more stability of the center wing. So the MENTOR has a higher resistance to frontal collapses. Furthermore, the stability in accelerated flight could be improved. The trim and maximum accelerated speeds of the MENTOR are slightly higher than the MAMBOO......"

Development Story:

"NOVA has a long tradition in the class of high level 1-2 wings. It took us one and a half years from the first MENTOR proto (X189: April 24, 2006) to the certification and production start of the final version. Very complex computer simulations (CFD) promised a big step forward in performance for new concepts.

But flight tests showed that it was not easy to implement those ideas: Some prototypes impressively demonstrated their performance potential, but they were not good in other disciplines like handling or safety.

We didn't just want to build a great performance wing, we also wanted to improve in the disciplines of handling, safety and even more in comfort and simplicity."
Rating
starstarstarstar 		Comments anyone?
by: Anonymous

Well, the guys at Nova might not be overjoyed to see this review, but perhaps it might provoke a bit of discussion about this wing... Tim P.

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