Home All Interview scene internals of a Phantom

Internals of a Phantom

Lucian Haas 22/8/16 All , Interview , Scene

Nova designer Philipp Medicus talks about project details of the EN-B Phantom with 99 cells and the sense of cell multiplication.

The Nova Phantom shows in flight its high cell count. // Source: Nova

In early July reported Lu-Glidz first time Novas very special "new": The Phantom is the first EN-B with 99 cells . The report increased within a short time to one of the previously most read posts in the history of Lu-Glidz on. This shows that Nova has met with the project at least a nerve among pilots. No matter how the screen is reflected in practice, marketing point of Phantom is ever a successful coup. Whether in view of the high price and the upcoming sales will correspond to the first hype, still has yet to be seen. The hope for Nova to be able to establish a new premium segment in the paraglider market is large in any case. How it ever came to the project, where the main problems lie and what comes to metazoan in the future could be expected from Nova or other manufacturers, it said Lu-Glidz with Philipp Medicus, the designer of the Phantom. Philip, the Phantom encounters with many pilots with great interest. On Lu-Glidz my first report to the screen went up within a short time in the top 10 of the most read posts. The broad resonance you surprised in paragliding forums etc.? Philipp Medicus: Not very. The hope of this resonance was at the beginning of development. The closer the screen approached the finished product, the more confident we were internally that the hope would be fulfilled. What is the Phantom now cost really.Initially, a list price of about 6000 Euro was called. That still the case? AM: Yes. Just there are 6450 euros.

This is twice as much as in a conventional EN B glider. The Phantom has twice as many cells as the Ion 4. Is there an immediate impact?Theoretically, one could say rule of thumb, the sewing of a cell of a paraglider costs about 60 euros. A EN-A with 45 cells is then a list price around 2700 an EN-B with 55 cells in 3300 and provide a phantom with 99 cells to about 6000, which very well fits with the market reality. To what extent does this bill? PM: The bill is not entirely wrong. Because of the complex internal structure, it takes much longer though, to sew a phantom cell, as a cell of the Ion 4. That will at least partially compensated in that the cost of lines, risers and the like hardly rises. As a very rough estimate but It said proportional relationship between cell number and cost. If the price of the Phantom as justified? What do I get as a pilot at Phantom de facto over the Ion 4 - except for the feeling to fly a very exclusive product? PM: You get significantly more power and handling, reminiscent in terms of precision significantly higher rated umbrellas. Both in passive safety on the level of ion 4. Whether the price is really justified, but will ultimately decide the market. Let the history of Phantom. When and how it actually came to the idea to start this project? PM: The very rough idea of such a screen, there were at Nova since well over five years. It remained long in this rough idea, until I have 2013 such an approach simulated times. Although this looked reasonably promising but ended up back in the sinking. Only last year we decided to dedicate ourselves to the idea seriously. After the first prototype we were very confident that the project would be sooner or later to successfully complete. The impetus for the realization was the curiosity, which in this stretch class were possible if one exploits the technological possibilities. Why did you choose the Ion as the basis and not the mentor? The latter - with its reputation as a track machine - would be but the performance optimization much more obvious? PM: The Ion is not the basis of the Phantom. Apart from the extension has technically no longer with the ion in common as the mentor of the Phantom. However, we believe that there is a particularly large audience for stretching class of ion and now just the Phantom.Would it be an option to go the way of cell multiplication to other wings of Nova palette? PM: As I said, the Phantom is not ion with redoubled cell number. The essential common feature is similar stretching and the related claim. We have not yet determined whether we might implement a similar concept with more stretching. What exactly does it really brings to equip a screen with more cells. What are the advantages, why it improves its performance? PM: One advantage is the great dimensional stability. A screen with so many cells and such a complex internal structure is very rigid. So he reserves the envisaged form, which is conducive to the performance. Another advantage lies in lower Ballooning. This gives way to the profile in the cell center little from the shape of the profile ribs. The deviations from the desired ideal profile are therefore lower.But multicell want to be suspended or guyed accordingly. This requires either a complex array of cell cross-diagonals, or you need more lines. Where your opinion is about the limit as from more cells bring nothing, because the performance benefits are devoured by the additional line resistance? PM: That's hard to say. I would imagine that from the four and five-bracing ( Note: the number of cells between two line attachment points ) are in future six- and seven-bracing, which can compensate for the problem of the additional line drag on. I would not want to commit myself to any minimally sensible cell width or maximum useful cell number. Why did the Phantom ever planned with 99 cells? You could have only can take 80, the wow effect would Nova also thus been safe. PM: I think that the screen with 99 cells better flying than with 80. And stood in the specifications of the Phantom that the manufacturing cost does not matter to play. If you hold it as necessary to operate with such a high number of cells? Ozone brings just the Zeno on the market, a two-liners with EN-D. The should be able to compete in terms of performance with the CCC umbrella Enzo 2, but does not own 101 cells like the Enzo 2, but only 78. The number of cells therefore does not appear to be anything. PM: The cell number is not everything that makes the Phantom. She's just the most striking technical feature. But as I said: I consider the 99 cells for technical sense.

When it comes to performance especially screens, and the quality of sewing and Controlling is a crucial influencing factor. Nova has its own production facility in Hungary. Were any of your seamstresses able to sew a Phantom? PM: When sewing the Phantom everything is not complicated. To sew a Aufhängeloop a profile is the Phantom not demanding than the Ion 4. Complicating the Phantom once the many diagonals come into play.This can currently only some of our seamstresses.The prototypes of the Phantom during development were even all sewn by only a seamstress. She flies not only good, it also has a deep technical understanding of the structure of a screen. The savvy once heard that wherever diagonal element.This is a great advantage in the production of prototypes. Now under their direction to and enrolled more seamstresses on the screen. Of course, you can not put all of the same technical understanding, so a proper documentation of the manufacturing steps is essential. Therefore, we have also introduced additional manufacturing and test steps. The great response to the Phantom in the flyer scene can probably others paragliding companies take notice. How long will it take in your opinion, is presented a similar product to of one of your competitors? PM: I do not know. But I assume that the Phantom will not remain the only screen of its kind. Do we then continue to think in more screen classes? Will it also give next EN-A and EN B in high, mid and low such a thing as an EN B "premium" in the not exactly the only safety, but also the price range says something about the level of performance ? PM: well, just because a screen is expensive, it does not necessarily make good. But to your question: With many other, comparable products different price segments are completely natural. For example you can buy a road bike for 1000, 4000 or as a premium product for 8000 Euro. The paragliding world has since been the absolute exception, but I suspect already that this will change the long term. With the Phantom You have not saved as a design engineer in a place of paragliding history. How do you feel when you read in the brochures, it is the "probably the most complex and technically elaborate series screen of all time"? PM: The text in the Phantom Prospect gives me no satisfaction. And the complexity is no merit on my part, but the people who are responsible for the production of the screen. But I am as delighted when Ferdinand Vogel recently enthusiastically came to the Kaiser Trophy in the company and has described to me based on the tracks, as well as he could keep up with the Phantom in this competition with the two liners. That was, after all the internal test flights, a more thorough verification that the complexity and expense of allowing a corresponding value. To what extent you have entered in the design of the Phantom for you new territory?What was the biggest difficulty? PM: For me or for our development team it was definitely new territory. The greatest difficulty was probably the way to the first prototype, including its production. From there, the euphoria was then greater than the trouble.

How detailed design solution, are you particularly proud? PM: The Phantom has brought several findings that I would not miss.Generally formulated, it is very interesting to change a parameter such as the number of cells and thus the extremely Ballooning, to better understand certain connections. This definitely makes the Phantom. . If this results in a tangible, easily explainable detailed solution, on which I am proud, I want but do not publish as promptly Then I'll ask more generally: What lessons from the development of the Phantom could also in future Nova screens with normal find cell number? PM: the concrete answer is lightweight.At the beginning of development, we were concerned that a screen with so many cells could be too heavy. That is why we have tried from the first proto to leave no unnecessary piece of cloth more in the screen. Of future Nova screens are sure to benefit. If the phantom inside as many cell walls and diagonals has to be heavily cut even lighter weight, falls in production so enormously much material waste. What happens with it?

PM: The amount of waste is the phantom of course greater than in an ion. But it is smaller than in a tandem screen. The complexity helps even at some point, to save material. The entire top surface of a 99-Zellers with 25 square meters of space caused for example less waste than a 30-Zellers having the same area. For many small parts can be on the rolled material arrange more efficient than a few large ones. Elsewhere, however, the complexity increases the material consumption. This applies for example for all the profile ribs. Of course, the reduction of cutting waste is a major concern for economic reasons alone. The cloth parts are arranged for this purpose of a so-called nesting software as closely as possible. What then about remains are small pieces of cloth, which are discarded.

Critical View could the Phantom, called just the hitherto most complex, but also as the possibly unökologischsten paraglider on the market by material consumption forth. To what extent do such environmental considerations in Nova matter?

PM: I do not know what to call especially not ecological rather - the Phantom, a tandem paraglider or a mountain glider, the they acquire only as a secondary device? A particularly ecological umbrella would be perhaps seen one which can be 2000 hours old. But I suspect that there would be no large market for this thick beleinten and eight kilograms screen.

Speaking Market: Should there be in the future also be from other model series such as the Mentor a phantom-like variant? PM: I had previously answered: We do not know yet. And when the chubby EN-A comes with 80 cells and glide 10 ? Karl Slezak, the security officer of the DHV, you could thus perhaps fulfill a dream. PM: Also, we do not know. I think it would be obvious but to realize a similar screen concept with many cells rather with some more stretching than with less stretching. Thanks Philipp for the interview!