Europa XS
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Europa XS and Europa Classic are low-wing two-place composite monoplanes in the VLA (very light aircraft) category, in the form of kits.
Contents |
[edit] Fuselage
The streamlined composite design and the unusually low canopy give the Europa both high cruise speeds (up to 200 mph) and high fuel efficiency (up to 50 mpg) due to the decreased drag.
[edit] Engines
The Europa utilises the Rotax engines 912UL, 912ULS and the turbocharged 914UL. They have horsepowers between 80 and 115 and operate at 5800 engine rpm.
[edit] Wings
Europas can be fitted with either normal (tourer) wings with 102 ft2 wing area and 13.43 lb/ft2 wing loading at MTOW or motorglider wings with a much larger area. Since the fuselage is common to both motorglider and tourer then with both sets of wings the same fuselage can be configured as a tourer and a motorglider alternately. The wings can be de-rigged for transportation or storage in five minutes.
[edit] Undercarriage
Europas have either a conventional undercarriage or a monowheel-tridragger system. The latter has performance advantages over the trigear, but can be prone to groundlooping in inexperienced hands or without proper type certification, even sometimes in the hands of ATPLs. Some Europas have been damaged this way.
[edit] Fuel system
The fuel tanks are inside the fuselage, and accommodate 18 US gallons standard and 28 US gallons extended. This gives a range of 841 sm standard or 1256 sm extended at economy cruise setting. The plane can be filled with normal AVGAS or with MOGAS with appropriate certification.
[edit] Certification issues
The Europa is classified as a homebuilt in its home country of the U.K. and as such can only have a Permit to Fly and therefore has restrictions placed on it such as not being allowed to fly at night, IFR or over built up areas (except in traffic patterns). For full details consult the PFA or download CAP659 from the CAA website.
(The author is unaware of issues in other countries; contributions would be welcomed.)
[edit] Series
Europa have produced two types, the Classic and the XS, the latter similar externally but with several improvements. However, due to the similarity of the two types they are generally referred to as 'Europas' and, although this is merely the name of the company, the suffixes are rarely used.
[edit] Specifications (Europa XS)
[edit] Dimensions
Wingspan= 27.17ft
Length= 19.17ft
Height (monowheel)= 4.33ft (trigear)= 7ft
Wing area= 102ft2
[edit] Weights and loadings
Wing loading at MTOW= 13.43lb/ft2
Power loading(Rotax 912S)= 13.7lb/hp
G-loading= +3.8,-1.9 (design),+8.55,-4.27 (ultimate)
Empty weight= 750-780lb
MTOW= 1370lb
Useful load= 590-620lb
[edit] Performance
Cruise speed (Rotax 912S)= 155-161mph 8,000ft at 75%
[edit] External links
Europa Aircraft home page
Europa Club home page
The French Europa Agency home page
German Europa site
[edit] Comparable aircraft
The Europa is comparable to the dozens of Rotax-powered all-composite VLAs that are on the market. However it differs from most by the low wing, the monowheel option and the low fuel consumption (50 mpg as opposed to 25 mpg for most).
