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The Naja is intended for the intermediate motor pilot and follows
a trend toward smaller area with greater efficiency. They strived to
make easy inflation an important aspect and, in my opinion, they
succeeded. I had this wing for almost a week and will only do full
reviews on wings that I can have for that long because I can learn
so much more on several outings and in different conditions.
In flight weight was 226 pounds with a 57 lbs motor, 155 pound me
and my testing gear and the 14 pound Naja. Projected area was 21 m˛
so the wing loading was a very high 10.8 lbs / m˛. That's how I like
to fly--heavily loaded.
Handling (8): Handling is great and it carries enough
energy so that pulling on the brakes allows you to trade speed for
several feet of altitude. It's as responsive as a Silex but is more
efficient.
Brake pressures are a bit higher than the spice but brake pull
distance to effect a turn is similar. Silex pilots will also
be right at home with the handling. It turns into a dive almost as
quickly as the Silex and Spice (something I find desirable) but a
turn can be done flat just by using more outside brake.
Pilots who complain about a wing diving are simply not controlling
it properly (with outside brake as necessary).
The Naja is not as busy as the Spice in turbulence and probably
about the same as the Silex although I only compared it back to back
with the Spice.
Inflation (8): Small wings rule! This one does quite
well here—better than the Silex (which I consider pretty predictable
and easy). The Naja is easier to control than my Spice while kiting
and has very little tendency to fall back. It takes slightly more
airflow (about 1/2 mph) to keep the Naja up compared with the Spice.
We kited them together for a while to get a feel for that. The Spice
comes up a bit quicker.
You'll have to run just a bit faster than a small Silex.
The wing did very well when inflated without using the A's at all
using only moderate pull. You can get a lot of wings to do that a
strong wind but we did it with only about 5 mph relative airflow.
That suggests no-wind inflations will be easy. I did two no-winders
with ease.
Efficiency (7): It has lots of internal bracing and
appears to have attention paid to aerodynamic cleanliness without
resorting to high aspect ratio. I was unable to do the power test
(compare power required in level flight) but it yielded almost as
high a climb rate as my Spice.
Speed (6): A nice compromise. This is another area where
small wings shine. It has no speedbar but makes up for that somewhat
by having a large trimmer range. During my GPS testing I found the
speed to be 23.5 mph trim in and 30 mph trim out.
 Construction (7):
It seems well built, more robust than most free-flight wings.
Sand flyers out west (CA) may not like the brake toggle retainer
magnets which clog in iron-rich sand. Enclosed magnets (embedded
behind one layer of fabric) may not hold quite as well but can't
clog. If you fly from grass or non-iron sand then you won't notice
the issue.
The Naja has two riser loops. Since some pilots on some high
hook-in machines can have a problem reaching the brakes with long
risers, having two loops solves that. It's like having motor risers
and regular risers in one. There are two brake pulley positions,
too, that can be used (a common feature on many wings). Using the
upper loops is like having short risers which are made for high
hook-in machines. I flew it with the loop ends (for low hook-in
machines) and found it perfect. Tim flew it with the upper loops
(meant for high hook-ins) and found the brakes too low but that's
corrected by routing the brake lines only through the upper pulley.
It comes down to personal preference but the two-loop solution
eliminates the need for motor (short) risers although I've never had
a problem with most risers, even at normal length.
It came with the brakes through both pulleys and I left it alone
although I would route it through only one pulley to decrease
resistance.
 Certification &
Safety (7): It's certified DULV 2 in the size I flew (21) and
has been tested through a very high wing loading. Given the
responsiveness I believe this wing is appropriate for PPG2 pilots or
higher. I did not collapse it in flight nor did I get anything more
than a tip collapse which didn't affect flying at all (nor should
it).
I'm told the glider would have gotten a 1-2 except for B-stall
recovery which is why it has a DULV 2 rating. I can see that, it's
profile and lower aspect ratio suggest reasonably forgiving
behavior. Just don't do B-Line stalls until you've done them at a
maneuvers clinic and know what to expect. Then again, that goes for
any wing!
Overall: This is a good wing for PPG2 level pilots through
advanced motorheads and could even be used for soaring in stronger
conditions. Silex flyers will like it, especially during dead calm
launches.
The manual will soon be available for download at http://www.swing.de/.
  
   
1) Kids, don't try this at home. They
don't recommend towing with this wing nor would I—there's no speed
bar meaning that you cannot use a tow-assist bridle which pulls the
speedbar to decrease the chance for going parachutal. Towing without
such a bridle increases risk noticeably. 2) This is how I measure
brake pressures. 3) The risers and cascades with tip line (stabilo)
coming off the B risers. 4) Another view in flight. 5) Kiting by
just holding the risers was easy. 5) Side view of the risers. You
can stow that trimmer using its attached velcro. 6) Tim launching.
You can see how the two loop riser set works. He's using the upper
loop.
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