Niviuk KOYOT 4, User Manual

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the wing or entering a negative spin. Before attempting to clear a knot, make 
sure there are no other pilots flying in the vicinity.

5. LOSING ALTITUDE

Knowledge of different descent techniques could become vital in 
certain situations. The most suitable descent method will depend on the 
particular situation.

To become familiar with the manoeuvres described below, we 
recommend practising within the environment of a licensed training outfit.

5.1 BIG EARS

The “Big ears” is a moderate descent technique, able to increase the sink 
rate to –3 or –4 m/s and reduces the ground speed by 3 to 5 km/h. The 
angle of attack and effective wing-loading will also increase due to the 
smaller surface area of the wing.

Standard technique

To perform the ‘Big ears’ manoeuvre, take the outermost line on each 
A-riser (the 3A3-line on the specific A-riser) and simultaneously, smoothly 
pull them outward and downward. The wingtips will fold in
To re-establish forward speed and the correct angle of attack, accelerate 
once the ears are pulled. 
Keep the ears pulled in until you have lost the desired altitude.
Let go of the lines to re-inflate the tips automatically. If they do not, try 
progressively pulling one brake then the other. Asymmetric reopening 
is recommended in order to avoid compromising the angle of attack, 
particularly flying near the ground or in turbulent conditions. 

Beware of the risk of stalling!

The action of reaching for the outermost A-lines “3A2” to make ears, can 
inadvertently mean pulling the brakes. The same can happen when we 

are holding the tips down with the outermost A-lines “3A2”, it is possible 
to accidentally affect the brakes. This can obviously lead to a significant 
speed decrease. In KOYOT 4s with a very pronounced arc, pulling big 
ears means an increase in drag. On a very arched wing, the ears do not 
fold, they just hang. The increase of drag is more pronounced than on 
wings with a less pronounced arc. 
The KOYOT 4 is designed with little chord, which is good in normal flight 
conditions. However, this same damping is what can cause us to have 
problems to regain normal flying speed after a high increase of the angle 
of attack and the added drag of the ears. 
These particularities, together with turbulent thermic conditions, could 
cause an unintentional stall. 

The solution:  big ears may still be applied but you must be fully aware 
of the above-mentioned points and act accordingly. To avoid the stall, 
simply use half speed-bar (this is sufficient) to increase the speed  and 
decrease the angle of incidence. This should allow you to maintain 
sufficient speed to prevent the stall. Take care not to pull the brakes while 
making the ears as this will make a stall more likely!

5.2 B3 TECHNIQUE

On the new KOYOT 4’s generation the application of big ears can create 
a high degree of trailing edge turbulence. In addition, with the length of 
the chord and the arc of the wing, the ears have a tendency to “flap”, 
increasing the turbulence and causing the KOYOT 4 to lose too much 
airspeed, making it necessary for the pilot to recover it, either using the 
the speed-bar or releasing the ears. 
This new rapid descent technique was first discovered by our Niviuk 
team pilots in 2009 while flying a competition prototype wing, which, 
because of its line plan and high aspect ratio would not allow big ears to 
be applied. In fact, big ears on 2-liner wings can often prove difficult. 
 
With the current 2 or 3-liner wings, the inability to pull big ears, or the risk