NOVA Phantom — the Rolls Royce of the B class, built from 99 cells and a low aspect ratio

The Phantom's claim is unambiguous: the passive safety of a low B, with high-B performance laid on top. A low-B pilot can fly it without strain; a pilot stepping down from a hotter wing keeps the comfort and takes the performance of the B class ceiling along with it. Collapses recover easily, big ears go in readily and reopen quickly. The bill comes separately. Buoyancy in weak conditions goes to the Chili 4 and the Mentor 5, and on long glides through moving air the Mentor 5 stays ahead. The time and the price of weaving 99 cells are the pilot's to pay as well. The Phantom, then, is not a wing that wins every day. It is a wing that gets better as the air gets rougher — and for a pilot who wants to hold on to comfort without letting go of performance, it is the answer, provided they are ready to pay for it.