|
The Europa AL Europa is a two-seat (side-by-side) single engined composite
mid-wing light aircraft. The Europa kit plane was designed and developed by Ivan Shaw as a kit aircraft that can be
built and stored at home. The Europa design began in January 1990, and the Europa Aircraft
Company Ltd. was formed at Kirkbymoorside, Yorkshire, UK. in 1991 by Ivan Shaw to develop and market the Europa light aircraft.
The first prototype, G-YURO, was registered on 6 April 1992 and flew first on 12 September 1992.
Popular Flying Association certification (PFA 220-11981) was gained in May 1993. The first model of the Europa was the Monowheel. With
a single retractable wheel in the centre of the fuselage and retractable outriggers on each wing the overall drag of the aircraft is minimised
and therefore you have the advantage of high speed with excellent fuel economy. The aircraft underwent flight testing in line with JAR-VLA requirements
in 1993 and was introduced in the United States in 1995. The Europa Monowheeel, or Europa Classic was a succes. Further development, the follow-on
aircraft Europa XS, introduced a couple of key improvements to the design. First of those changes was a move from glass-over-foam
construction for the wings to a more modern molded-shell design. Each of the semi-mid-mounted wings are easily removable, a task simplified by carriage of the fuel in
the fuselage and special stubs to transmit aileron and flap commands to the control surfaces Tthe convenience of removable wings allows the
aircraft to be housed away from the airfield during the non-flying periods. To expand the range of the Europa XS a tricycle undercarriage was
developed, known as the Europa XS TG. Although the fixed undercarriage imposes a slight drag penalty, fitting the optional speed kit minimises this effect resulting
in only a very slight reduction in top speed compared to the Europa XS Monowheel. The trigear is a mix of the normal tricycle gear with a free-swiveling nosewheel.
The nose gear is a castoring fork type with the same size wheel as the main gear. Steering is by differential braking on the main wheels.
The nose wheel suspension is a dual system, the secondary safety cable limiting the total movement of the leg should the primary system fail
thus minimising the risk of prop strike. The Europa XS Trigear can be supplied with a number of different engines, although those from Rotax are recommended.
The Rotax engines currently range from 80 HP through to 115HP. The latter unit being turbocharged. In September 2008, the Europa brand was purchased by Swift
Technology Group. Over 1000 kits of the Europe tri-gear and monowheel versions are sold. |
|
On 9 September 1999, Europa AL Europa s/n 157 was registered PH-POP in the Netherlands with R.M. Zeelenberg, Amsterdam.
The kit plane was built under NVAV No. 161. The homebuilt Europa AL Europa PH-POP is fitted with a large retractable
mainwheel on the fuselage centreline, a steerable tailwheel coupled to the rudderpedals and outriggers mounted on the
wings. The aircraft is powered with a Rotax 914 UL DCDI 115HP. 4-stroke turbocharged engine.
Europa AL Europa PH-POP was seen at Hoogeveen airfield on 19 August 2009. |
Luchtvaart déjà vu
