The Xenon; Introduction; Technical Summary - Nova XENON Bedienungsanleitung

_44

The XENON

Introduction

The XENON was developed for the X-Alps and combines top perfor-
mance with simple handling and very low weight.
Reliable in extreme situations
Challenging launches, long flights in changeable conditions and spot
landings in rough terrain – this is what the Red Bull X-Alps is all about.
The XENON (EN/LTF D) was designed to rise to these extreme situa-
tions. It offers pilots who want to get the most out of an XC day the
perfect package of performance and safety. Thanks to a clever mix of
materials, the superlight XENON is also extraordinarily durable.
Achieve top flight
Even at launch you will notice the simple handling, which ensures
effortless thermalling for many hours. In accelerated straight flight,
the XENON impresses with its glide performance and speed. The great
stability and moderate pressure on the B-area allow this performance
to be utilised in a relaxed manner, even in lively air. Therefore collapses
are really rare. If the XENON does collapses, the reaction is tame for a
glider of this aspect ratio. It does not tend to reopen abruptly, responds
well to input during asymmetric collapses and shows no tendency to
stall during a frontal.
Smart use of materials
With the XENON, we spared no effort to increase performance - includ-
ing with the choice of materials. Nitinol rods fitted throughout the wing
depth of the upper surface increase stability and thus performance.
Nitinol is kink-resistant due to its shape memory and has better length
stability than conventional nylon reinforcements. When it comes to the
cloth, we rely on robust and dimensionally stable cloth in the front area
of the upper surface. On the trailing edge we also dispensed with the
lightest cloth available in favour of greater stability. This cloth is used
for the entire undersurface and the main parts of the upper surface.
Optimised in this way, the weight of the XENON is 3.15 kg in size 17.
No compromise with the risers
We use 8 mm slim Kevlar webbing for the risers, which twist very
little despite their narrow width. Thanks to their great length stabili-
ty, the clearly arranged risers make a significant contribution to the
trim stability of the XENON. We are happy to accept that the risers
weigh about 30 g more per pair than, for example, ultra-light Dyneema
"shoelaces". After all, high trim stability and easy riser and line sorting
before take off are essential not only during the X-Alps.
The Height-Adjustable B-Handles (HAB-Handles) can be adjusted
to six different heights and thus optimally adapted to pilot size and
harness geometry. The individual adjustment of the B-handles enables
more effective glider control in accelerated flight. For weight reduc-
tion, we use carbon as an extraordinarily light material. For even more
performance, the XENON offered a special solution for the riser: due
to a moveable pulley on the B3 main line, the optimum wing twist is
maintained even when pulling on the B-handles.

Technical summary

The XENON is an EN D glider with 65 cells and a flat aspect ratio of
6.7. It is made from very light cloth. Therefore care should be taken
when handling the wing.
All technical data can be found on page 72.
_45 _EN