Cooperation of Raul Rodriguez and NOVA

A new Paragliding Brand is born: Raul Rodriguez Acro Wings

"The austrian paraglider company NOVA is proud to announce a cooperation deal with Raul Rodriguez, multiple world champion and one of the world’s most famous acro pilots. The agreement will be signed on Friday, the 19h of September, at the “Coupe Icare” flying festival. The collaboration includes the introduction of special acro paragliders under the new brand "Raul Rodriguez Acro Wings". They will be developed, produced and distributed by NOVA. Raul Rodriguez holds the trademark and is in charge of all flying tests and the image of the new brand.

Wing range:
In 2009, the partners will start with three models: The RADIX is an Acro competition wing – radical and for professionals only. The first proto was visible in skies over Saint Hilaire during the Coupe Icare. For very experienced pilots, who want to seriously pursue acro flying, an Acro Intermediate will be introduced. Mid 2009, the range will be complemented by an Acro beginner’s wing with homologation (EN / LTF). This wing can be used as a normal paraglider, yet combines high safety and agility and thus allows an easy introduction into the world of acro flying.

Cooperation:
NOVA design engineer Hannes Papesh will develop all “Raul Rodriguez Acro Wings”. For the next step, the wings are taken through intensive flight test by Raul Rodriguez to optimize the handling. The wings will be produced in Europe, in NOVA’s own factory “Mecsekballon” in Pecs, Hungary. The image of the brand, the wings’ visual design, and the trademark are held by Raul Rodriguez.

Distribution
The wings will be distributed world-wide (except South America) by the existing NOVA distribution network. This ensures that the new Raul Rodriguez Acro Wings will be available immediately to all key markets.

Hannes Papesh says about the new partnership: “We have already constructed various acro wings in the past, but have never been dedicated enough to launch them on the market. Then Raul Rodriguez approached us regarding sponsoring and the development of a wing. He flew the Insect, our acro-prototype at the time – and we immediately clicked. Our discussions and ideas finally resulted in the birth of the new brand. I believe Raul and I truly complement each other in our skills.”

Raul Rodriguez adds: "I know most of the acro wings on the market. And I was positively surprised when I got to test the NOVA Insect. The wing was sensational and no one knew about it. After all, NOVA is well known for their great XC-wings, yet they are nobodies in the acro world. We then talked about how we could collaborate to make it real good. The idea was born to launch a special acro paragliding brand. It all starts now and I’m very excited about this project!“

Visit: www.rracrowings.com (still under construction)

Watch the first video with the Radix