- Europa XS
infobox Aircraft
name = Europa XS series
type = Kit aircraft
manufacturer =Europa Aircraft 
caption =
designer = Ivan Shaw [from "Flyer" magazine, http://www.flyer.co.uk/news/newsfeed.php?artnum=270]
first flight =
introduced =
retired =
status =
primary user =
more users =
produced =1987-present
number built = 450
unit cost =
developed from =
variants with their own articles =Liberty XL2 The Europa XS and Europa Classic are amateur-built low-wing two-place composite monoplanes in the very light aircraft category.
Development
By the autumn of 2007 450 Europas of all types had been completed and were flying.Kitplanes Staff: "2008 Kit Aircraft Directory", page 50, Kitplanes Magazine December 2007 Volume 24, Number 12, Belvior Publications, Aviation Publishing Group LLC.]
The basic design was later manufactured as a certified aircraft, built by
Liberty Aerospace in the USA as theLiberty XL2 .Design
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 dragcite web |url = http://www.europa-aircraft.biz/products.htm |title = Product Specifications |date = undated |author = Europa Aircraft (2004) Ltd |accessdate = 2007-10-31 ] .
Engines
The Europa can be fitted with
Rotax 912UL of 80horsepower , the 100 hp 912ULS or the turbocharged 115 hp 914UL engine. Other engines have been successfully installed and flown, includingSubaru auto-conversions,Jabiru Aircraft engines, and the Wilksch WAMaircraft diesel engine .Wings
Europas can be fitted with either normal (tourer) wings made out of
fiberglass with 102 ft2 wing area and 13.43 lb/ft2 wing loading at MTOW or motorglider wings, made fromcarbon fiber with a much larger area and span. 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 removed for transportation or storage in five minutes.The Europa touring wing uses a unique Dykins 12%
airfoil designed by Donald H. Dykins. 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]The motorglider wing uses a different wing section, also designed by Donald H. Dykins, who had been deputy Chief Aerodynamicist at
Hawker Siddeley Aviation, and later technical director ofBritish Aerospace and chief aerodynamicist on the EuropeanAirbus wing design. Dykins designed a new and unique aerofoil of 15% thickness-to-cord, designed so that thecenter of pressure is in the same place as the smaller wing which should ensure that the rudder and tailplane are equally effective with either wing.Wingspan is increased to 42 feet bringing the wing area to 135 ft2. The motorglider wings are fitted with airbrakes rather than flaps [ 'Kitplanes' magazine, July 1999] .Undercarriage
Europas are available with either a conventional undercarriage or a monowheel with a tailwheel and outriggers. The latter configuration has performance advantages over the trigear version, but can be prone to groundlooping in inexperienced hands, partly due to the lack of differential braking.
Fuel system
The fuel tanks are located in the fuselage and have a capacity of 18 US gallons standard and 28 US gallons optional. This gives a range of 841 sm standard or 1256 sm extended at economy cruise setting. The plane can use AVGAS or MOGAS depending on engine requirements and national regulations.
Regulatory Status
The Europa is classified as a homebuilt in its home country of the UK and qualifies for a "Permit to Fly". This limits it to day, VFR flight and restricts from flight over built up areas (except in traffic patterns).
In Canada the Europa is an amateur-built aircraft and qualifies for a "Special Certificate of Airworthiness" [ [http://www.tc.gc.ca/aviation/applications/exemptions/docs/en/1298.htm Transport Canada Website - EXEMPTION FROM SECTION 549.01 OF THE CANADIAN AVIATION REGULATIONS AND CHAPTER 549 of THE AIRWORTHINESS MANUAL – AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS - AMATEUR-BUILT AIRCRAFT February 2, 2005, accessed 19 September 2007] ] .
Variants
;Europa Classic
At the time it was produced the first variant was simply called "Europa". This version is now referred to as the Classic and kits for it are no longer in production.
;Europa XS
The Europa XS is available in two models – the Europa XS Monowheel and the Europa XS Trigear. The XS incorporates many incremental improvements over the Classic, including preformed hollow wings, a more streamlined cowling, extended tailwheel, enlarged baggage bay and a better balanced spinner. These developments meant that Europa XS still fulfills the original design objectives, but now offers extra speed, range, baggage space and comfort. It was also designed to reduce the build-time and simplify building..
;Europa Motorglider
Most recently, Europa launched the Europa Motor Glider. The glider wings can be interchanged with the wings on the Europa XS Monowheel and Trigear [Europa Company Brochure] [www.todayspilot.com/flight_tests/jul02/1p1.html] .
Incidents
On 1st June 2007 a Europa Classic, registration G-HOFC, broke up during a flight over South Wales, United Kingdom, killing both occupants. The investigation indicated irregularities in the construction of the right wing attachment at the rear lift/drag pin. There was also evidence of movement of the tailplane surfaces beyond the normal range of movement.
As a result of the initial findings, the
Popular Flying Association released two Airworthiness Bulletins requiring immediate and repetitive inspections: [ [http://www.aaib.dft.gov.uk/cms_resources/S3-2007%20G-HOFC.pdf AAIB Report on the June 1, 2007 Europa Accident] ]*PFA 247/FSB006 ‘Europa Classic and Europa XS Tailplane Flutter Avoidance and Integrity Of Tailplane Attachment’
*PFA 247/FSB007 ‘Europa Classic Integrity of Wing Attachment’.The content of these Airworthiness Bulletins was made mandatory in the UK by the issue of Mandatory Permit Directives.
The final accident report concludes that these modifications and the mandated inspections of aircraft already completed, adequately address the construction issue.http://www.aaib.dft.gov.uk/cms_resources/Europa,%20G-HOFC%2005-08.pdf AAIB Bulletin: 5/2008 G-HOFC ]
This accident only affects older Europa Classic aircraft, all of which should have now been modified and not the XS model which has a different structure.
Aircraft type club
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