Nicola Donini on NOVA's Artus, a 2.1 kg Pod Harness Derived from a Race Model
パラワールド【超多面的パラグライダー情報チャンネル】PARAWORLD
At the Coupe Icare 2023 in Saint-Hilaire, France, Nicola Donini, an athlete and test pilot for NOVA Paragliders, gave a short walkthrough of the Artus, a lightweight pod harness NOVA was about to release. He wanted to show how a harness first built for racing had been turned into a more robust product for ordinary buyers, and why he thinks it stands out in its category.
From Race Harness to Market Version
Donini said the project began with a race version of the harness, which NOVA designed for hike-and-fly races. The Artus is the version for the general market. It is a "more solid" harness, and NOVA added some weight to get there, though Donini stressed that it was "not so much." His summary of the approach was that NOVA took "all the best from the race harness" and passed it on to customers.
Designed for Comfort and Stability in Strong Conditions
According to Donini, NOVA's main goal was a comfortable flight in all conditions, including extreme ones. The team designed the harness geometry to do two things at once: stay stable, and still allow good handling through weight shift. He briefly demonstrated the weight-shift handling on camera.
He also pointed to a good back support. He mentioned one more element that helps keep the harness in shape and adds to comfort, but the word is unclear in the recording.
Instrument Plate and Cockpit Pocket
Donini called the instrument plate very good because the instruments are easy to see during flight. It has a built-in pocket, which he said is especially useful on long flights and in turbulence. The pocket sits close to the pilot's hand, so food or a power bank can be reached without much effort.
Shape and Aerodynamics
Donini gave his personal view of the harness's look. He said he likes it very much and considers it "one of the best pod harnesses on the market." His reasons were that it is beautiful, aerodynamic, and sharp. He presented this as his own opinion, not as a measured comparison.
Weight: 2.1 kg
The number Donini stressed most was the weight: 2.1 kilograms. He said the harness gives the feeling of a sturdier harness of around 5 kilos while staying compact and light, which he found "quite impressive."
Storage
He went through the storage areas:
- Front pockets: the usual pockets.
- Pocket near the protection: a large pocket that the transcript suggests is meant for bivouac flying.
- Rear compartment: a lot of space at the back, where pilots can carry as much gear as they want.
Inside the Harness: Protection and Structure
Donini then showed the inside of the harness to explain why he calls it solid despite the low weight.
- Protection: the harness uses a split-leg format with protection. He said it feels like flying a harness with a seat plate.
- Carbon rod: a carbon rod runs along the harness and continues along the back. He said this makes the harness very solid while keeping it light, and that it improves comfort a lot.
- Coverage: he showed that the protection runs from the lower part of the harness all the way up the back, so the pilot stays well protected even in a light harness.
Donini ended by saying the NOVA team is very proud to bring the Artus to market and to present it.
Hey everyone, I'm Nicola Donini. I'm an athlete and test pilot from Nova. Nova Paragliders, and now we are here at the Icarus Cup introducing to you the new pod harness from Nova.
It all started with the Red Bull X-Alps, where we developed the Artus Race, designed for hike and fly races, and now we are going on the market with a more solid version. So we added some weight, not so much, but we took all the best from the race harness to give to the customers on the market.
We were focused to give a comfortable flight in every extreme condition, so we designed a geometry of the harness that can keep stability and also can easily give a good handling on the weight shift. Three, two, one, go.
We have a nice back support and also AUM that gives a good shape and improves the comfort of the harness.
Also, the instrument plate is very good. You can see the instrument very nicely during the flight, and it is incorporated with this pocket that is very useful when you fly for a long time, also in turbulent conditions, because it's very close to your hand and you can put some food or a power bank inside it.
Also the shape of the harness, personally I like it very much. I think it's one of the best pod harnesses on the market, because it's very beautiful to look at and it's very aerodynamic and sharp.
The weight of this harness is very impressive, because it's just 2.1 kilos, and it gives a sense of a more sturdy harness, of like 5 kilos, but it's just so compact and so light that it's quite impressive for me.
Yeah, then you have the usual pockets here in front. Also, close to the protection, you have a big pocket for bivouac flights, and then in the back you also have a lot of space.
You have a lot of space where you can put as much stuff as you want. So as you can see, this is the inside of the harness, and you can see it's very solid.
We can start from here, where there is the protection. As you can see, it has a split-leg format, but with a so protection it feels like flying a harness with a plate.
Yeah, we also have a carbon rod here that goes here and also on the back, so this gives a very solid harness, still light, but this improves a lot the comfort of the harness. Also, the protection goes from here all the way up till there, so you are still very protected with a light harness.
Yeah, this is the new harness. We are so proud to put it on the market and to present it to you. Bye bye, bye.
A good handling on the weight shift.
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