Liberty XL2

Infobox Aircraft
name = XL2



caption =
type = Personal use and training aircraft
national origin = USA
manufacturer = Liberty Aerospace
designer = Ivan Shaw
first flight =
introduction =
retired =
status =
primary user =
more users =
produced =
number built =
program cost =
unit cost = USD$179,000 (Basic VFR version, April 2008) cite web|url = http://www.libertyaircraft.com/airplane-liberty-xl2/11-pricing.php|title = LIBERTY XL2 Aircraft & Accessories Price List|accessdate = 2008-08-17|last = Liberty Aerospace|authorlink = |year = 2008|month = April]
developed from = Europa XS
variants with their own articles =

: "XL2" redirects here, for the Canon camcorder of the same name, see Canon XL-2."

The Liberty XL2 is a two-seat, low-wing, general aviation aircraft manufactured by Liberty Aerospace of Melbourne, Florida for the personal transportation, touring and flight training roles.

Development

The XL2 is a derivative of the Europa amateur-built kit touring airplane and motor-glider. It was type certified in 2004 under FAR Part 23 for VFR and IFR flight [cite web
publisher=Liberty Aerospace
title=Liberty XL2 :: In The News :: Latest News August 2002 (sic)
url=http://www.libertyaircraft.com/news/news.php?id=91
accessdate=2006-08-21] .

Design

The Liberty was designed by Ivan Shaw, who also created the Europa. The aircraft has a composite fuselage and aluminum wings. The engine is a fuel injected FADEC(Full Authority Digital Engine Control) equipped Continental IOF-240–B driving an MT composite propeller.Hunt, Adam: "Flying the Liberty XL2", COPA Flight, January 2006, Canadian Owners and Pilots Association]

The landing gear is of tricycle configuration and all three gear are 4130 Chromally steel sprung. The nose wheel is free-castering. On early versions the nose wheel steering wass by differential braking via two finger-controlled brake handles mounted on the centre console. On later versions more conventional toe brakes have been installed.

The wing features large fowler flaps pivoting on three scissor hinges per wing, with a maximum 30-degree deflection. The flaps are electrically powered and are controlled by a switch to the right of the radio stack. The flap indicator is a three-light system which shows when the flaps are at zero, twenty and thirty degrees. The flaps can be selected in between those settings but require visual confirmation of flap position.

The wing is rectangular with a 7:1 aspect ratio, no taper and no washout. Small stall strips are installed a few feet out from the root to aid stall performance.

The airfoil is a unique design, which the XL2 shares with its predecessor the Europa. This is a Don Dykins airfoil, designated as a “Dykins 12%”, because the wing’s maximum thickness is 12% of the chord. The airfoil is a semi-symmetrical, laminar-flow design.

The fuel is housed in a single fuselage-mounted tank with filler on the left side. The tank holds 28 US gallons useable and is fed to the engine via a simple on-off fuel selector.

The tail features a rudder mounted with a piano hinge on the right side only. The elevator is a full flying stabilator and incorporates anti-servo tabs inboard on both sides to increase pitch stick forces. The controls are actuated by dual control sticks and conventional rudder pedals.

Cockpit access is via two “gull wing” doors. The seats are mounted in side-by-side configuration in a 48 inch wide cockpit. The seats are fixed in place with ergonomic adjustment achieved with seat cushions of different thicknesses and adjustable rudder pedals.

Standard avionics include a Garmin 530 GPS-Comm, a 430 GPS-Comm and a GTX 327 transponder, along with an intercom system and audio control panel. Engine instruments are all contained within a Vision MicroSystems VM-1000 panel.

The stall warning system is a voice annunciator that says “Stall, Stall”.

Under the right side of the instrument panel is a cannon DE-9 plug providing RS-232 which can be plugged into a laptop PC to download engine monitoring information. The software to run this is included on a CD-ROM which comes with the plane. This has been upgraded recently to an EDI card (engine Data Information). This card is a memory card much like in a digital camera, and records all engine data from 0 hours, until the 2000 hour TBO and can be read with a card reader to diagnose problems and observe flight characteristics in real time flight.

Pricing

The cost for the XL2, as of April 2008 was:

*Standard VFR USD$179,000
*Standard IFR USD$188,000
*Deluxe IFR USD$198,000
*Advanced IFR USD$212,000

Aircraft Type Club

The Liberty XL2 is supported by an aircraft type club, "XL2 Owners". cite web|url = http://www.xl2owners.com/|title = XL2 Owners|accessdate = 2008-05-21|last = XL2 Owners|authorlink = |year = undated]

pecifications (Liberty XL2)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop

ref=Liberty Aerospace Website [cite web
publisher=Liberty Aerospace
title=Liberty Aerospace, Liberty XL2 Performance
url=http://www.libertyaircraft.com/airplane-liberty-xl2/5-performance.php
accessdate=2007-10-13] [cite web
publisher=Liberty Aerospace
title=Liberty Aerospace, Liberty XL2 Specifications
url=http://www.libertyaircraft.com/airplane-liberty-xl2/4-specifications.php
accessdate=2007-10-13]

, the maintenance manual [cite
author=Unknown Author
publisher=Liberty Aerospace
title=XL2 Maintenance Manual revision 2 P/N 135A-970-006
revision=2
date=March 2005]

and Plane&Pilot Magazine [cite web
publisher=Plane&Pilot Magazine
title=Plane&Pilot Magazine - Aircraft Specifications - 2005 LIBERTY XL2
url=http://www.planeandpilotmag.com/content/specs/2005/liberty_xL2_2005.html
accessdate=2006-08-21]

crew=1
capacity=
length main= 20 ft 3.8 in
length alt= 6.19 m
span main= 28 ft 7.26 in
span alt= 8.72 m
height main= 7 ft 4.96 in
height alt= 7.26 m
area main= 112.0 sq ft
area alt= 10.41 m²
airfoil=Dykins 12% cite web|url = http://www.ae.uiuc.edu/m-selig/ads/aircraft.html|title = The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage|accessdate = 2008-08-17|last = Lednicer|first = David|authorlink = |year = 2007|month = October]
empty weight main= 1160 lb
empty weight alt= 483.1 kg
loaded weight main=
loaded weight alt=
useful load main= 590 lb
useful load alt= 267 kg
max takeoff weight main= 1750 lb
max takeoff weight alt= 794 kg
more general=

engine (prop)=
type of prop=TCM IOF-240
number of props=1
power main= 125 hp
power alt= 93.2 kW
power original=

cruise speed main= 113 knots
cruise speed alt= 130 mph, 240 km/h
never exceed speed main= 162 knots
never exceed speed alt= 186 mph, 300 km/h
stall speed main= 50 knots
stall speed alt= 57 mph, 93 km/h
range main= 500 nm
range alt= 575 mi, 926 km
ceiling main= 12500 ft
ceiling alt= 4260 m
climb rate main= 682 ft/min
climb rate alt= 208 m/s
loading main= 14.76 lb/sq ft
loading alt= 72.06 kg/sq m
thrust/weight=
power/mass main= 0.0756 hp/lb
power/mass alt= 124 W/kg
more performance=

armament=

avionics=

References

External links

* [http://www.libertyaerospace.com Liberty Aerospace]
* [http://www.libertyxl2.creativephotog.com Aircraft Type Club]

Related content

Related development

* Europa

imilar aircraft

* Alpha 2000 (Robin R2000)
* Beechcraft Skipper
* Cessna 150
* Cessna 152
* Diamond DA20
* Grumman American AA-1
* Piper PA-38 Tomahawk
* Symphony SA-160
* Van's Aircraft RV-6
* Van's Aircraft RV-7
* Van's Aircraft RV-9