Niviuk Artik R

Reinforced internal structure

A two-liner with a new internal structure and reinforced attachment points to maintain stability. Improved orientation of the internal slots of both in ribs and diagonals, to distribute the loads optimally and reduce the overall weight of the wing. This is based on the knowledge gained in the development of the internal structure of the Peak 6.

New profile

Pitch stability has been perfected: the glider stays at the pilot's vertical and glides without holding back, using the air mass as energy. The centre of pressure in the new airfoil focuses the lift in the optimum area to achieve the best balance between stability, speed and performance.

Refined aerodynamics

The latest Niviuk technologies have been applied to achieve a high-performance, crease-free airfoil that offers high performance in flight and glide.

New cut and stitching

The application of mini-ribs on the trailing edge reduces air resistance and improves the aerodynamic shape of the wing. The DRS technology has been optimised: the new cut of the trailing edge allows the mini-ribs to be perfectly integrated into the outer panels without visible seams.

Nitinol rods

Based on Niviuk TNT technology, the profile features Nitinol rods to maintain the shape of the wing under all circumstances, even after ultra-compact folding and packing. 

Ergo handles

The Artik R comes with Ergo handles that permit more efficient and comfortable piloting, and which allow efficient B-riser steering.

Flybubble review

"It's got very nice handling. For me, the nicest handling of all of the ENC two-liners I've flown so far. It's got a nice agility too. The handling's very direct and it converts energy very directly. And also the glider itself is very solid and taut, right across the glider, even when it's quite choppy air and you can't feel what's happening. It's really communicating what's happening in the air. I think the Artik R gives the best feedback of the en C gliders closely followed by the Gin Bonanza. The Artik R, I found that it's particularly nice and easier when the wind's a bit lighter. Even with very light winds, almost no wind, the glider's just got a really nicely shaped leading edge, those Nitinol wires in there and the way that Niviuk have put those together where it forms a really nice shape on the leading edge. With the Artik R was very easy to inflate the glider and bring it up and get it to inflate. In stronger winds that tendency with the Artik R of inflating its leading edge requires a bit more management to hold it down.

So the first thing is that the feeling I get in the air is the leading edge of being very, very solid and very cohesive right across the sail from tip to tip. The glider feels very collapse resistant, not extremely so, but it does feel very solid and even flying in some chop and I can feel the glider unloading a bit but I didn't have any sizable collapses in some quite choppy air. The feeling I got from the Artik R, it just instilled confidence in me from the first time I flew it really. It just feels very confidence inspiring. But I'd still say definitely in terms of pilot demands the Artik R has been more towards the high C, so a bit of a step up from the Artik 6 for example. So the pilot demands are a bit of a step up, but I don't feel like they're a massive step up quite similar to say the Volt 4 and Photon. How clear is the stall point? And I felt with the Artik R that the stall point is pretty clear for the level of glider it is. It's yeah, nice and clear. I didn't find it sort of vague or surprising at all but I'd say compared to say the Artik 6 it requires a little bit more finesse than that in terms of the stall point. If you are flying around with too much brake on the Artik R and you pull down the brake too much with that then I think you've got a risk of spinning or stalling the glider In terms of the performance. As far as I can see, the Artik R seems really, really excellent at the top of the C class and definitely up there at the top with say the Photon, and I think those two in terms of out and out performance when we're talking about particularly speed and glide and fully accelerated speed and glide, so far from my testing, they seem to be the top of the ones I tested. The Artik R, the build quality well I think nowadays Niviuk gliders and for a while now but I'm really impressed with the build quality it's beautifully made.

Thinking about descent techniques. So starting with big ears actually the Artik R seems to do big ears really nicely and easily. It's really quite easy to to pull them in and hold them in and they are effective and they do give you a bit of an increased descent rate. The Artik R also does the B3s and it does those nicely although the pressure is very high. So pulling those in was really quite a heavy pressure. I felt the spiral was very manageable very effective and controllable. So it pulls standard high Gs. It's a real pleasure to do wing overs with it's really fun to play around with. It just felt really taut and solid all the way around and really energetic. So far the Artik R I've flown it with the Lightness 3, with the Delight 4, with the Impress 4 and also the Niviuk Arrow. Every harness I've flown I've ended up with the same feeling about the glider. Criticisms of the Artik R, If I was nitpicking then I'd say that just a little bit easier on the the launch in strong conditions. Another nitpick was the the really nice C-handles, really nice handles the soft rubber of bits on there, they're a little prone to line burns when you're messing about too much.

So who's the Artik R for? Well the most suited they are is the pilots who've been flying a C class glider for a while, a mid C glider, and are looking for a bit of a step up and want to get their first two liner and don't want to go to a D class glider. And then I think the Artik R is absolutely ideal. It's a nice step up there. It's also suited to pilots who've been flying a high B glider - it's that's a bit hotter in the high B class. For example the Gin Explorer or the Explorer 2 or the Avid or if you were flying a Gin Carrera. If you've been flying that for a while and you are looking to go into the C class and you've got good feeling and good glider control good finesse on the stall point then I think stepping to the Artik R could be a good step. That's a perfectly reasonable step for you, especially if you are current and have good glider control skills then that's perfectly fine."

- Carlo Borsattino, Flybubble

Watch the Flybubble video review:

Other reviews

"Pulling on the A’s on the Artik-R at 92 all up, gave me a little heavy feel at the beginning of the rise, than normal in the middle rise, with very easy take-off behavior even in no wind. The take-off is immediate without the wing surging in front.  In a stronger breeze, the Artik -R can be easily mastered by the brakes, and there is no surging forward for a C pilot, rather than an immediate take-off. Overall take-off behavior is quite nice.

I flew the Artik-R in a very weak lift (+0.3 m/s) with no wind influence, at 93 all up, and I was really efficient with the best C gliders, or even D’s, to confirm after a while that the climb is in weak is really good! The Artik-R could float really well! In stronger thermals or with more wind, the Artik-R behaves calmly in pitch, and needs slightly more time to enter, but with a fairly good climb rate for the category.

The brake length of the Artik-R is slightly longer than the Artik 6, but it still with good agility. Not as sharp as the A6 in turns, but still good enough to be satisfied. Smoother in turns than the A6, as I was able to core every single thermal easily. The Artik-R doesn’t dive in turns as the A6. It turns more efficiently flat without losing the core. Throwing wingovers, and playing around on the Artik-R could also be playful, but it was engineered to be an efficient XC tool, getting the most out of the present lift. 

Today, manufacturers are trying to satisfy a large group of pilots from the high B's to the high C’s but some are resilient to deliver a suitable and comprehensive 2-liner for the C category. The Artik-R seems to have filled that gap comfortably. But there’s no miracle! In the 2-liner EN-D category, the Peak 6 for example was created to give you more performance with a higher pilot level. With the Artik-R, you are flying a 2-liner with near the comfort of 3-liner C’s. Perhaps around a +12 % increase in pilot level in strong air. "

— Ziad Bassil, Dust of the Universe (full review)

Downolads

• Manual - PDF
• Certification - PDF
• Technical data - PDF