Don't know much about NASA wings - how do they perform compared to equivalent size foils? Easy to launch/land?

I fly them quite a bit, I find they need a little more brake than a foil, so I usually hold the handles with all my fingers below the top leaders, and this does the trick. They can pull like a truck when flown low, but don't have a whole lot of lift.(enough, though, to help me out of the buggy seat!) Upwind is work if you are underpowered, if well powered, hang on!

Easy to launch and land. Can fly on 2 or 4 lines. Flies well even on short lines.

There are a slew of variants, with the NPW 5, NPW 9, and the NPW HA (High Aspect) being the most common ones.

I find them to be a bit more sluggish in turning (Caveat: I have only flown the NPW5s). The 9s are supposed to be better performers, with more foil handling and power.

The single skin makes it very economical moneywise in any of the variants.

There are a whole bunch of site dedicated to the NPWs. Here are a few:

• Fredrik Lejonklou's Teega plans
  
• Findings from studies done at NASA on Parawing models 1-24
  
• Art & Fly Works - Peter de Jong's famous site with Nasacalc software.
  
• Tom White's NPW Site
  

I am sure Susan can answer any in-depth questions you have.

ATB,
Sam

If speed is not your objective... but simple control an stability.. then the NPW's are for you.

I flew foils for years before I started flying nasa wings. I have been flying nasa wings for about 5 years now and know that whatever size foil the guys are flying I fly about 2 meters smaller. The same goes if I am flying a foil.

Being a single skin kite there is less weight and nasa wings do great in gusty inland wind. That is why I like them so much.

They do not cost as much as foils and also can be flown on any length line set or just on the bridles.

Let me know if you need more info.


Susan (npw goddess)

Cheers, Guys/Gals. Would I be right in assuming they steer very much by their front lines? And it sounds like they are more a 'low aspect' type performer - lots of grunt, not something you have to work up and down and get speed into. I like the sound of them handling the gusty inland winds - it can get pretty gust at home - even to the point where my Apex II's are getting tricky.

What's the wind range like compared to a fixed bridle? ie: my 6.5m Method produces enough power on long lines to get me going in 6mph or so and I'm going sideways at about 15mph.

Hey John, here's a short, raw vid I took while flying the HQ 4.8M NPW5 in light wind yesterday. Wind was up the beach, sort of, making the upwind run a tough slog. So I flew static a lot.

indestructible fun!

Cheers, Bob. Nothing sluggish about the way that was turning and seemed to recover from the stall/spin really well. I'll have to give one a try although I haven't seen them available down here - at least they should pack up small for some overseas postage

Quote:

Originally posted by John Holgate ....at least they should pack up small for some overseas postage

I pack the 4.8 NPW5 in my luggage when I travel. Packs down to about the size of a pair of jeans. But worry the baggage inspectors might mistaken the handles for pipe bombs.

Susan/ Bob/ Dakitz:
What size wing would you recommend for gusty 5 -10 mph? The 4.8 like Bob has been demonstrating in this thread and his new video or the 7.0?

cheers, these sound like very fun kites to fly in gusty winds and small fields.

Hi Cerebite, yesterday's winds at Southwick Beach were probably around 10 mph. I was able to buggy with the 7M NPW9, but the wind was out of the SW, making the ride north fast enough to catch up with the kite, and the ride to the south a lot of work. I did get some video, and will post it when it has been processed.

Here is the promised video. The 7M would have been plenty of kite in those winds, had the direction been directly onshore, IMO.

Quote:

Originally posted by Taper123 If speed is not your objective... but simple control an stability.. then the NPW's are for you.

I hit 48 mph with a 2.8 in 40-50 mph winds at Nabx one yr. So, yes they are slow compared to a 6m phantom!..........aj

Depending on your weight and what type of surface you are buggying on a 7 meter would be enough with gusty 5 to 10 mph winds. The 7 meter should give you plenty of power in the gust and you should still be able to roll in the lower wind.

The nasa wings do real good in gusty inland winds and you can fly them on any length line set or just hadles for parking lots.


Susan (npw goddess)

Quote:

Originally posted by Cerebite Susan/ Bob/ Dakitz: What size wing would you recommend for gusty 5 -10 mph? The 4.8 like Bob has been demonstrating in this thread and his new video or the 7.0? cheers, these sound like very fun kites to fly in gusty winds and small fields.

Hi All,
first post on this site and NPW seemed the best place to start. I've made a few to-date starting on a 3m 5b then onto a 4m, followed by 9b 4m, 7m and a 10m for a friend. Just finished a 3m HA. Found the 9b a big improvement over the 5b in terms of handling. The HA was a different beast altogether, very twitchy, very fast, but needed > 8mph wind to get it going. Tried a few tweaks on it and managed to get it stable and flying in lower winds, it now has it's place as my high wind kite. Supurb kites for shear grunt

Welcome bigE, that's a fine looking NPW in your Avatar. I'd be interested in seeing your HA in action, if you could make a video.

lol, thanx... here's one I shot just the other day, trying out the kite and helmet mount.

It's not ground shaking but it'll give you an idea of how it flies. The landing at the end is not my usual either!!

http://s1263.photobucket.com/albums/ii623/Dogz-n-Mutz/NPW%20...

That is one smart looking wing!
If I see it correct it is more kite shaped with no nose ? Nice since it is the nose tuck that causes me issues at times. Mine is the HQ model NPW 5. ( same as in Bobalooie's avatar )
It looks like it should work great as an engine and fast for a single skin? Have you used it in motion?

Very nice bigE! She definitely looks to have plenty of grunt! I bet she's fast in the buggy. I was static flying my HQ 3.4M NPW9 today in similar wind, 15 G-20 or so, but variable in direction. Very little snow here right now, so I was just trying to remain standing in the slippery mud. It flies with similar speed as your HA, but with the varying wind, was experiencing the 'nose collapse' as mentioned by Bladerunner. What sort of "tweaks" did you have to use to smooth out the flight?

It does have some pull on it but when I first tried it in the buggy it was like trying to hold on to a fish on the end of a line. Since I modified it, she has become a lot more stable, in the buggy she is now nice and controllable but still has the turn speed. I have just posted my kite for someone else to try out back to back with his HA. I'd hate to give out the mod if it's just my wishful thinking it's better. When I get his feedback I'll let you know whether it really did work.
If it works as well as I think, I'm going to mod my 4m 9b in the same manner and see if it helps with the nose tuck.

Bladerunner, it does still have the NPW nose, right across the three central panels. Although the kite is now more stable than the first build (was a very good stunt kite, but not really buggy friendly). We are still trying to sort out the kite not holding it's full shape in turns. Work in progress but looks like we're getting there.

http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/ii623/Dogz-n-Mutz/HA%20f...

brilliant ! you also have a cascaded bridle! very nice! maybe you can get also some inspiration from the ozone xxlite single skin paraglider. just google for it.

Thanks for the comments!!
Very interesting regarding the xxlite, we want to keep to the ethos of single skin with no support, that will give us a stable workhorse, I have tried using one of the mods tested on the HA on a 4m NPW 9b to see if it helps with preventing nose tuck, wind should be good enough to test tomorrow. Got to take it slowly as I don't want to ruin any of my already good kites, hence keeping to smaller sizes. I'd be devistated if I ruined my 7m "Union Jack"!!