Nynja Flight

BY ROB KNIGHT Under the bluest, clearest sky for months, Rob Knight spent a glorious afternoon at Watts Bridge Aireld sampling Greg Robertsons snow white Nynja, VH-ELJ.

kit-built aeroplane, the Nynja is an upmarket Skyranger, designed in the early 90s by Frenchman Phillipe Prevot. First own in 1992, the initial Skyranger design now boasts over 1300 descendants in the ying world, and the type has been approved by the very stringent British Civil Aviation Authority for operations in the UK. At this time there are 100 plus Nynja ying worldwide, many of them in ying schools. Standing pertly on the grass outside Gregs Watts Bridge hangar, my rst impression of the Nynja was that it looked smart, even a little cheeky, with its angular corners and raked engine cowl. Obviously a sibling of the Skyranger, it is an archetypal high winged rag and tube machine with a Rotax 912 behind the spinner. What is different are its clean lines, with no drag producing protrusions, and well designed fairings. Up close, the cockpit grabbed my attention. Its bright red bucket seats and black instrument panel were smart and functional, sitting very nicely against the expanse of white fabric wings and white breglass fuselage panels with their red and grey stripes. This particular aircraft has split stabletype doors - solid bottoms and Lexan uppers - the latter able to be latched open during ight. Strapped into the seat, the roominess of the cockpit was impressive. The upper doors were still latched up and the breeze owing through was cool. The controls were conventional with a central stick and two sets of rudder pedals on the oor. A single lever on the stick activated the hydraulic disc brakes, and parking them was a simple act of inserting a pin that locked the lever to hold pressure in the lines.

Standing pertly on the grass outside Gregs Watts Bridge hangar, my rst impression of the Nynja was that it looked smart, even a little cheeky, with its angular corners and raked engine cowl.
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REVIEW Nynja Flight

The panel contained basic VFR instruments including a turn coordinator, and along the bottom were located the master switches, CDI key switch and headset lead jacks. The top of the panel was low which hinted at great visibility in the air. Above, there was no roof just a spread of more Lexan to let the sunshine in and visibility out. With the rudder pedals linked to the nosewheel, steering was solid and positive. The three bladed prop provided a good taxi speed at only a low power setting, in spite of the wet grass as we taxied out to the runway. The brakes were very effective and held us easily as we did our run-up. Then, when the DVAs and a good lookout were completed, we lined up on the centreline. The large throttle lever with its big round knob was not as ungainly as it had rst appeared and fell quite naturally to hand. By the time it was fully forward the nosewheel was lifting clear and the aircraft leapt briskly into the air at about 45kts. We accelerated to 65KIAS and the climb settled at just over 970fpm. To hold the airspeed, the nose was only just above the horizon and forward visibility was excellent. With a smidgen of right rudder to balance the slipstream from the clockwise rotating prop we trimmed for the climb.

To hold the airspeed, the nose was only just above the horizon and forward visibility was excellent.
We turned southwest and continued climbing while I tried simple S turns to get a feel for the aeroplane. It felt good: the stick was rm but not heavy, and there was little lag between stick input and the aircrafts response. As the ailerons are of the simple kind there was plenty of adverse yaw from aileron drag so nimble feet are an advantage. However, except for a little more extra right rudder needed when rolling right than left rudder when rolling left, there were no surprises. We levelled out and turned away from the hills ahead. Careful attitude control and 5000RPM produced 93KIAS which converts to 95KTAS. Although the stick pressures were never great, the elevator trim was superb. Just a small movement of the trim lever on the frame above and all stick pressures disappeared. Next up were some steep turns and these were no more difcult than the climbing variety. However, with the greater roll rate I was now using, the need for accurate co-ordination was even more apparent AND the aeroplane was telling me if the ball was out. During this exercise I was impressed by the Nynjas control harmony, a big feature in making this aeroplane so pleasant to y. A couple of 60 banked turns took us to the edge of the airframe limits and it still ew perfectly well. The speed decay in the left turn was under 10 knots and our wake turbulence was waiting for us as we exited. The right turn was nearly as good but the low nose attitude fooled me a little. However, in both turns the controls felt great and the extra rudder was easy to judge and apply to maintain balanced ight. Stalls were typical of any light aeroplane, except there was virtually no pre-stall buffet. Basic stalls resulted in a nose sag with the wings level. A little power and 1 notch of ap saw a more pronounced break but again, no major dramas. A provocative stall with substantial power and full ap as for a short landing, slowed the speed decay rate and this time, with still no buffet, at the break we rolled about 10 left. Stick forward, just enough right rudder to arrest the yaw, and full power, stopped it instantly. Height loss in any stall recovery never exceeded 100 feet.

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Nynja Flight

In the glide, the Nynjas 10:1 glide ratio became apparent, but it wasnt designed for soaring. At 60kts, the best glide speed, the controls were lighter and just a little less effective. Again, the Nynja told me when the ball was not centred as we rolled into or out of turns. The low nose and good forward visibility was great for lookout as we joined the pattern and during the ensuing circuits. With little wind present and the little there was being straight down the runway, the approaches were simple and, with the aeroplane trimmed, it just slid down the approach to the are point. At the are the powerful elevator showed that over control could plague the unwary or inexperienced and cause a kangaroo landing. However, the elevator power made it easy to hold the nose off after touchdown. Every landing was good, no bounce and the wheels spinning up as they brushed the grass - even the last which was set up with full ap as a short landing. After touching down I held the nose off and, with just a single nger on the brake lever, we were stopped in less than 100 metres ground roll and had to taxi to the runway exit point. This is one very impressive ying machine. It has a very good payload, easy maintenance, and a sparkling performance so it has to be attractive in anyones book. The airframe and its coverings are simple, very robust, and well presented. The whole machine is a very tidy package and I can see many practical applications for such a versatile aeroplane. I

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