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View Full Version : Wanted - Europa Info


silvereagle
16th Feb 2003, 17:45
For some time now, I have been contemplating the acquisition of a Europa. I work full time and spend a lot of time away from home. As a result, building is out of the question. I had considered waiting until I retire in a couple of years time but being the sort of bloke I am, I thought - why wait? So the plan is to source a ready to fly model.

The question is, which one and what are the pitfalls? What I want to avoid is the frustration of potentially parting with the loot then discovering that I should have insisted on a certain type/mod state/engine etc.

I have been flying for 25 years and have flown just about everything from an F3 Tornado to a Luscombe. I want an aircraft that is inexpensive to operate, reliable and tidy. I have hangarage and have access to JAR 145 maintainence so I have a robust support regime.

What I need is some advice on the Europa itself. I plan to visit the factory shortly and already subscribe to the quarterly Europa magazine. But I have yet to find a definitive source of do's and don't s on the acquisition front.

If any of you can help, I would appreciate it. And better still, if you can offer me a flight so much the better. I am sure we can come to some arrangement regarding 'swaps'. I still fly some very interesting types and would be happy to 'do a mutually beneficial deal!'

BRL
16th Feb 2003, 19:25
Oh lordy...Wait until FuFu reads this, be prepared for the longest, most detailed thread ever seen on pprune when he gets to work tommorow morning... :D

Rod1
16th Feb 2003, 21:18
Silvereagle,

I apologize for what may seem like a stupid question.

What are you going to do with it.-

solo local area, round the world with Jeff Capes, etc?

Europas come in many forms from very basic or fully equipped, with a variety of engines etc. It is a very good aircraft, but the ideal version for me might be completely the wrong one for you!

Some general comments;

I would avoid Subaru engined aircraft. It is very heavy and has something of a reputation for problems.

Insurance on the mono can be expensive, but probably not a problem with your experience. Worth checking though.

The XS has 2 inches more leg room than the Classic. Size can matter!

The XS is quite a bit faster and because the wing is mostly finished at the factory, it a safer bet for longlivety.

Your maintenance organisation will need to have a PFA inspector cleared for composit aircraft to be of real use.

I am reluctant to advise more at this stage, other than to say, after extensive (and very recent) research and a lot of flying, I bought an MCR01 instead!

Rod

FlyingForFun
17th Feb 2003, 10:09
Silvereagle,

I would love to give you a ride in my Europa. What's more, we have two shares for sale at the moment! Unfortunately, I think White Waltham may be a little too far from you for that to be practical... but feel free to e-mail or private-message me if interested!

As with all home-builts, build quality will vary depending on the builder. The only real advice is to contact the PFA and get a list of inspectors, then find an inspector who knows Europas to look over any that you're interested in. (Preferably not an inspector who's too friendly with the group, either... not that any PFA inspectors would deliberately miss something, but if they've inspected the aircraft before, then all their pet hates will have already been fixed, whereas someone else might spot something which the group's regular inspector may have genuinely missed.)

My Europa is the monowheel, which really is a whole load of fun, and can be a little challenging - although since you've already got tail-wheel time, you shouldn't have any problems. The only problem is it's not particular comfortable on a bumpy grass runway - you can do a perfect landing, then hit a bump 100 feet later and start bouncing around. Also, lack of prop clearance means you can't do wheel-landings, which is a real shame, and limits the cross-wind capability somewhat. But the enjoyment factor, plus the extra performance (and the fact that you can tell your friends your aircraft has retractible undercarriage!) outweigh that, IMHO.

I have a Rotax 914, which is absolutely fantastic. It not only provides the power for a very short take-off run, it's also comforting to know that it's got enough power to get you out of almost any trouble you can get yourself into if it goes wrong during the landing.

Our aircraft is slightly limited in useful load as a result of having lots of nice kit installed. It really isn't necessary, though - if it were down to me, I'd have put the bare minimum into the panel, and been able to carry more weight. We also have a small problem with a rear centre of gravity - not really an issue, we just have to be careful about loading luggage as far forward as possible.

When I bought into the group, the "speed kit" had already been fitted, so I never got to fly without it. However, I'm told by the rest of the group that adding the speed kit resulted in around a 5-10kt increase in speed for the same rpm setting, so definitely worth having!

Space inside can be tight, so Rod's suggestion to go for an XS if possible sounds good, especially if you're 6'6"!

Basically, you've made a good choice - the Europa is an excellent all-round aircraft, good for economical long-range cruising, very responsive and enjoyable to fly.

FFF
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silvereagle
17th Feb 2003, 19:23
Many thanks for that. All useful advice. I would love to come and have a closer look at your Europa FFF. If you would let me know when that might be convenient, I will try to make myself available. Then you can have a ride in my slightly larger toy. Can you handle 675shp?

silvereagle
19th Feb 2003, 12:11
I have now made contact with FFF. Great stuff.

If anyone else has any other useful info then I would greatly appreciate it.

Do any of you owners regularly remove the wings for storage? If so, what are the problems involved? I would guess that it is at least a 2 man job - is it? Also, what kit is available to store the wings? (apart from the trailer arrangement which I don't really want to get into).

I would also appreciate some idea of annual operating costs and insurance. I have never owned an aircraft before. All my previous types have been owned by HM or clubs. Presumably there is some form of experience assessment and 'risk' assessment done by the insurer - would I be right?

Finally, I get the impression that a number of Europas are owned by groups. I don't want to open a huge debate about the pros and cons of groups but if there are any specific Europa issues, then I would like to hear about them.