In Stock (#34): Northwing Strutted Wings 15m, 17.5, 19m & Contours & Quests Click on the picture for details. Although we typically have wings in stock, this advertisement is not for any one specific Strutted-Topless Mustang or Contour wing. It is simply aimed to address the most common questions & interests we're getting as they seem to be growing into the most popular & universal trike wings on the market. ..................... From a credibility standpoint, it is important to mention that we have a unique relationship Kamron Blevins, the owner of Northwing & designer of all the wings & aircraft. We know his equipment from recreational as well as professional experience. We’ve sold dozens of Strutted wings & use them religiously in our flight school regardless of the brand of trike we happen to be adapting them to. We also fly mid-day thermals, high winds & 1000+ mile excursions under his wings. On a different note, we also do a considerable amount of Northwing’s engineering & design work. I'm a partner in a small Design Engineering company & had the rare opportunity to use my profession to further my recreation last year After careful collaboration with Kamron, we used our state of the art CAD/CAM system to digitally model all of his aircraft, bolt by bolt, in the computer. It’s funny to mention that the software we used for this task is the same software used by NASA, General Motors, & Precision Dynamics. Nobody else in the world of triking has this much technology involved in their R & D. After migrating all of Kamron’s equipment into the realm of virtual reality, we actually assigned densities to certain areas of the equipment & ran a program that predicts their strength under excess loads. Aesthetically, we redesigned all of Kamron's composite fairings for 2004 giving Northwing the new look it has. We achieved some things that no other fairing has; enough room for people & gear, easy on & off, actually blocks the wind & still looks great. Finally, we created all of his assembly drawings in 3D & posted them to his website; achieving the most user-friendly part-identification & assembly manual on the market. I'd venture to say that we know his aircraft better than anyone and it's proved to be a great asset when educating shoppers on his equipment & incredible wings....................... Here are some comments taken from a recent email: 1) How does the Topless Wing compare to Cable Wings? All wings are different. So are cars, boats & motorcycles. All wings, trikes & motors have good points & bad points; and that's what makes the world go around. However, I believe Northwing is ‘consistently’ the nicest flying wing on the market. The fabric material is the same as the sails in the world cup of sailing, 20oz Dacron, which is perfect for what we do. Why? Elasticity & Price; I’ll speak to that more in a minute. Not to mention, the Struts are a work of art in respect to the extruded airfoiled shape with an internal box-tube structure. They finished with anodizing that makes them look like polished aluminum. The other wings brag high-end materials & workmanship; but all those materials are too tight, non-forgiving, too damn expensive & break down quickly in UV. Cables are time-intensive to manufacture & it's simply extra parts & assembly which equates exta cost. I’ve personally owned 12 wings & 9 trikes and I sincerely feel cabled wings are a waste of money unless you’re looking for extremely high speeds & performance flying. Most of us just want something pleasant to fly, forgiving, simple to setup/breakdown & great in the bumps. Combined with the stretchy 20oz Dacron, the topless configuration seems to allow more sail movement which is good, especially in the bumps. This stretch equates to shock absorbtion. All the Upper-Rigging/Cabled wings are made too stiff by use of the reflex bridles & bi-axial (directional) materials. Stiff & tight materials cause the wings to 'wander' or walk from wing tip to wing tip in the bumps because they’re simply too damn efficient. I know this sounds strange, but I’d sacrifice 3 mph & a better glide ratio to reap the benefits of a wing that rarely stalls, washes out 90% more turbulence & simply opens up more flying days. Don’t forget, they cost an average of 20% less than Cabled/Upper Rigging wings too. The 17.5m, my favorite for recreational flying, is a very controlled, yet forgiving feeling with high roll-stability. (Roll-Stability is basically a tendency to stay on a heading vs. rolling into or away from the bumps). You sacrifice about 4 mph by flying the 17.5m vs the 15m. I only recommend the 19m for floats................... 2) Why should I buy from you? The dealer & price issue is easy: You'll get what you pay for. I guarantee it. I feel we get pretty good service from Kamron because we’ve done so much for him in respect to engineering & large volume sales. This interprets into a better ability to help our clients. I also believe we know his equipment better than almost all of the dealers out there................... 3) Can I mount a Northwing Wing to another brand of Trike? Yes. And you are correct, the hanging point is the same on all the wings but the keel is longer on each wing to support the extra square meters of the sail on the wings. For example, we can only fit a 15m on the AirCreation because of it's smaller airframe. But, we can fit all the wings on Aerotrikes, with their longer airframes. Airborne, Antares, Tukan, Cosmos & Northwing trikes are variable.................. 4) Can I fly at Noon with a Topless? Flying at Noon... Are you in a Coastal environment or Arid? Coastal should be no problem with predictable & stable ocean winds. I personally live in an Arid environment where the thermals pump all day. As a matter of fact, they hold the world championships of hang gliding 80 miles from my airpark, so you can probably imagine the 'washing machine' effect we get here on a daily basis. Sometimes, flying has as much to do with the pilot’s experience & confidence level as the equipment but there's no such thing as a good carpenter without good tools... In my opinion, the 17.5m is the best wing for the bumps & we've proved it in recreation as well as competition over & over in the last 4 years...................... 5) How long will my wing last? If you take care of your wing & keep it in your hangar, it can last you a lifetime. Leave it outside in the rain & sun... it will die within two(2) years.................... 6) What about price? Northwing builds the best value for the dollar, especially considering the 22% decrease in the American Dollar exchange rate in Europe (where most wings come from). Let’s not even talk about foreign shipping & crating issues jacking up your price by at least $1000. Northwing Parts & Accessories are only two days away & there's no international shipping or customs fees. And, we happen to think that a select few of his dealers offer pretty darn good service too........................ 7) Does the wing really stay on the trike when you store it or trailer it? Yes. 15 minutes will be sufficient time to completely store or setup your trike/wing. If you’re flying floats or leaving your plane at a windy airstrip or dock, it’s the only way to go. You release the haul-back cable, remove a few battens, install a few straps & your safe to leave it. We’ve sold wings for this purpose alone, regardless of the previously described flying performance................ 8) Can I get custom colors? Yes. And there’s no extra charge....................... 9) How long for delivery? 1 week if you’re within the US and we have it in stock. Typically 4-6 weeks if we don’t have it in stock. 8 weeks is the maximum I’ve seen when Northwing gets really busy in the Spring time.......................... 10) How do I order? 50% deposit by Credit Card over the phone, Check, Bank Wire And, the final 50% due on the day of shipping....................... 11) Anything else? You’ll get an owner’s manual, batten chart, tuning kit, stickers & a free t-shirt or cap. All wings are test flown & nicely crated for shipping to terminal or airport near you. All shipments are insured. Price: $4500-$4800 Please Contact Us For Purchasing Information © 2010 Backcountry Aerosports, All rights reserved. Utilizing WhYDevelop Web Site Technologies