Nova MENTOR 3 User Manual
Version 1.3
03/2013
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NOVA............................................................................................5
The MENTOR 3............................................................................6
Short technical description...............................................................6
Safety..................................................................................................6
Handling Characteristics..................................................................7
Performance......................................................................................7
Target Group.....................................................................................7
General information before implementing......................................8
First flight.......................................................................................8
Registration.....................................................................................9
Scope of delivery...............................................................................9
Suited harnesses................................................................................9
Weight range...................................................................................10
Flying the MENTOR 3...............................................................10
Launch.............................................................................................10
Normal flight...................................................................................11
Turning............................................................................................12
Landing............................................................................................12
Manoeuvres for fast decent............................................................13
Big ears.........................................................................................13
B-Stall...........................................................................................13
Deep spiral....................................................................................14
C-Stall...........................................................................................15
Collapses..........................................................................................15
Asymmetric collapse.....................................................................15
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Front tuck......................................................................................16
Stall manoeuvres.............................................................................16
Spin...............................................................................................16
Fullstall.........................................................................................16
Deep/Parachutal stall.....................................................................17
Cravates...........................................................................................17
Winch launch...................................................................................18
Speed system....................................................................................19
Mounting the speed system...........................................................19
Using the accelerator in flight.......................................................19
Service and maintenance............................................................20
General advice.................................................................................20
Cleaning...........................................................................................20
Repair..............................................................................................20
Check...............................................................................................21
Environment friendly behaviour:.............................................21
Disposal........................................................................................21
Technical data.............................................................................22
Overview risers...........................................................................23
Overview glider...........................................................................24
Line plans....................................................................................25
Over all line lengths....................................................................28
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This manual contains important information and instructions to use your glider.
Please read the following pages carefully before your first flight. For questions
and suggestions please contact us: info@nova-wings.com.
To find further information about this or other products please visit our website:
www.nova-wings.com
To fully use all our maintainance and guarantee services you have to register
your glider on our website. (click LOGIN & REGISTRATION)
For more information on our guarantee services have a look here:
http://www.nova-wings.com/english/nova/guarantee.html
Now we wish you many nice ours in the air and a safe landing at the end of
every flight.
NOVA Team
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NOVA
Since the company was founded in 1989, NOVA has become one of the world’s
leading paraglider manufacturers with their head office in Terfens/Austria.
NOVA consists of a highly qualified team and most of the team members share
the passion of flying with those pilots, who decided to fly a NOVA glider.
This passion and our Know-How are the fundamental parts of our work. By
now, the passion and the Know-How are continuously growing. This is why we
are for example pioneers in the area of air flow simulations, which allows us to
predict certain properties of a new wing quite accurately on the computer.
Last but not least we have outstanding test pilots who provide a substantial
contribution to make every new wing an unmistakable NOVA glider, which
impresses in every aspect.
But NOVA doesn’t only just stand for the development and the design of
paragliders. We also want to take the responsibility for the manufacture of our
gliders. That’s why the production of NOVA-gliders takes place in our factory
in the Hungarian town of Pécs. This allows us to influence important factors,
for example quality assurance during the whole production process.
Furthermore we can guarantee fair working conditions for about 100 NOVAemployees in Hungary.
We are convinced that the customer benefits from better employee working
conditions, in terms of high-quality products.
What we want to achieve are happy and enthusiastic pilots, because the future
of our sport depends on the enthusiasm of the people who are part of this
wonderful sport.
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The MENTOR 3
The MENTOR 3 is the successor of the well known and very successful
MENTOR 2. The glider is a high performance High-Level EN B glider, which
is dedicated to pilots, who have already gathered experience on lower rated
gliders. With a solid amount of experience, the MENTOR 3 offers outstanding
performance, a very pleasant handling characteristic and a lot of safety in
practical condition.
Short technical description
The MENTOR 3 has 51 cells. Five of those cells are closed stabilo cells on
each side.
There are three layers of lines. The first layer, the A-lines are red. B and C lines
are yellow. The brake layer, which is not one of the three line layers, is orange.
(the stabilo lines are orange as well.)
The risers consist of 4 belts. On the first two belts (red) both A stem lines are
attached. Furthermore the speed system is fixed on the first A belt. On the next
two belts the B and C stem lines are attached.
Safety
No matter if flying accelerated or at trim speed, the MENTOR 3 pilot can rely
on a very stable wing in turbulent conditions. If a collapse occurs, it tends to be
quite small and the reopening occurs without impulsiveness. The long available
brake travel and the increasing brake pressure helps to avoid an unintended stall
when counter braking after a collapse.
The small aspect ratio makes cravats very unlikely.
The overall behaviour of the MENTOR 3 is easy to manage and very
predictable for pilots with some experience.
We recommend to all MENTOR 3 pilots to test the behaviour after collapses
themselves (during an SIV) to get their own impression.
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Handling Characteristics
To improve the handling characteristics we were aiming for the precise
feedback of the Mentor 2 but we tried to reduce the brake pressure. The result
is a very agile glider, that offers slightly more damping than the MENTOR 2, to
relax the pilot during long flights, as well as in turbulent conditions.
One other reason for the easy handling characteristics is the small projected
aspect ratio. (same as on the MENTOR 2) This makes it comfortable to control
the glider in demanding conditions.
We were also taking a lot of care about the behaviour in accelerated flight. The
pressure on the speed bar is very light and the wing increases speed efficiently.
Combined with the high stability, it is very comfortable to use the whole speed
range of the MENTOR 3.
Performance
We increased the glide ratio by about 6/10 compared to the MENTOR 2, by
optimizing numerous details. The basic design stayed the same.
The performance gain is even more, than from MENTOR 1 to MENTOR 2!
We are convinced, that the MENTOR 3 will be on top of the EN-B class in
terms of glide performance.
But pure performance doesn’t help a lot if the glider is not stable enough to fly
through bumpy air without collapses. The MENTOR 3 excels in such
conditions and cuts through turbulence with high pitch stability. Due to the
small operating forces of the speed system it is easy to perform pitch
corrections if necessary.
Target Group
The MENTOR 3 aims to appeal to pilots who have already gathered solid
experience with lower rated gliders as well as to pilots who usually fly higher
rated wings and who are looking for more passive safety. Due to the
outstanding performance, the MENTOR 3 is very interesting for XC pilots,
who are looking for an excellent balance between performance and safety.
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Pilots requirements
The MENTOR 3 is a High Performance Intermediate glider. It is not suited for
Beginners. We recommend the glider for pilots who are already capable of
certain techniques, like controlling a glider in turbulent conditions: The pilot
should be able to prevent unwanted pitch or roll movement in bumpy air. If the
pilot enters a strong thermal, he should intuitionally release the brakes to stop
the glider from pitching backwards. When flying into sinking air, the pilot
should apply more brakes.
The MENTOR 3 pilot should also be able to easily fly steep turns without
unwanted pendulum movement. We think, that a pilot, who is not capable of
those basic techniques will not be able to use the huge performance potential of
the MENTOR 3.
We recommend to permanently work on your flying skills, by attending a SIV
course, by training take-offs an a training hill or by ground handling the glider.
All this will help you, to get a better understanding of your glider and to
become a better pilot.
Every pilot, who flies on their own has to be able to decide if their skills and
equipment is adequate for the respective conditions. The MENTOR 3 offers a
high level of safety, but misjudgements may still have serious consequences.
The best way to avoid misjudgements is a defensive approach to the sport.
Some times it makes sense to pass on a flight, instead of getting yourself into
conditions you cannot handle. Regular training improves your skills and
enables you to enjoy your flights, even in more difficult conditions.
Please consider these thoughts!
General information before implementing
First flight
Every NOVA glider has to be flown and checked through a NOVA dealer. This
flight (date and pilot) has to be entered on the stabilo of the wing.
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Registration
To get all warranty and service features, you have to register your glider on our
Homepage. Please choose “LOGIN®ISTRATION” and follow the advice
for registration
Scope of delivery
The MENTOR 3 is shipped with a rucksack, an inner pack sack, a riserbag, the
speed system, a windsock, the manual and a patch.
Modifications on the glider
Any modification (e.g. change of line lengths, changes on the speed system)
causes a loss of air worthiness. We recommend that you contact NOVA before
performing any kind of change.
Suited harnesses
The MENTOR 3 is approved for any harness of the class “GH” (without
diagonal bracing). This means almost every harness which is currently
available.
The choice of the harness has a big influence on the flight characteristics of the
MENTOR 3. There are harnesses which allow very effective weight shifting on
the one hand, but which tip to the side in turbulences quite undamped on the
other hand.
Other harnesses don’t allow extreme weight shifting, but they will give the pilot
a calmer feel in turbulent conditions.
A good flying school can help on this topic with individual advice.
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