From: Ronald Monsen <MONSENRM@mail.aramco.com.sa> Message was originally
bounced !
The ultimate Europa,
The Europa is assembled on a modified trailer. A new set of wings utilizing
a low aspect ratio F-104 configuration are placed on the aircraft. Once
preflighted, the pilot and passenger board the aircraft on the trailer. The
trailer is then raised to a 60 degree elevation and a countdown is
initiated. At T-minus 0 the JATO bottle is fired and the Europa leaves the
trailer/launcher accelerating at 100kts/sec/sec. Passing through 600kts the
JATO bottle is jettisoned and the ramjet is then lit. This carries the
Europa on to a Mach 2.3 cruise. Both the JATO bottle and ramjet are
contained in a single bolt on pod below the fuselage. Once the destination
is nearby the ramjet is shutdown and the Europa glides to the field.
Normally one would expect the short field landing performance would be
downgraded with the F-104 like wings, but in this case Russian surplus
breaking rockets are fired from pods on the wing tips. They are angled in a
way that arrests both forward and ve!
rtical speed. The Europa touches d
own lightly on the field at less then 20kts.
There are some very slight modifications that will need to be done to
convert existing Europas to the Mach 2.3 version. These include some minor
reinforcement of the cowling and larger pins on the doors. The F-104 style
wing is sold separately and is easily assembled with simple hand tools. All
of the JATO, breaking rockets, ramjets, and other accessories can easily be
obtained via Russian surplus suppliers.
Two major improvements to the Europa design can be summed up by:
INCREASED SPEED
The Europa speed is increased from 200mph to over 1500mph
ENHANCED SHORT FIELD PERFORMANCE
Landing and take off distances are measured in single digit feet.
Turbines are for wimps.
Ron M
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