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From: owner-europa@ns1.avnet.co.uk on behalf of Jerry
Subject: N81EU - Inspection passed !!
Thought I might give an update on what was going on lately with my project #
UK81:
Last night we weighed the airplane on two scales: mechanical and electronic,
both certified. We weighed with full fuel and with all usable fuel pumped out
(using the el. pump with the tail down). I was astonished to see both scales
showing identical readings - exactly to the pound.
Total weight of the airplane is 770 pounds (A.P.S. Aircraft Prepared for
Service). That includes all engine fluids, unusable fuel, all instruments and
the paint job I am so proud of. A.P.S. CG comes to 61.06 Inches; for first
flight I should not go over 10 gals of fuel to stay in the narrow window for
first flight. I have to stick to max. 50 pounds of baggage if there are two
pax (190 & 180 pounders) on board with full fuel in order to remain within the
1300 pound max TOW.
Today the FAA Inspector came and spent about an hour on the plane. He wanted
to see how I can close the doors from inside (easy), the full travel of the
aileron and the engine running. The rest was paperwork - particularly
impressing to him was the Europa Owners Manual (Thank you Europa Aviation !) -
which becomes a very handy piece of literature for me as we prepare for first
flight. Got the standard limitations for homebuilt aircraft: 40 hrs of
test-flight time within 25 nM, no passenger unless needed for data-logging
during that timeframe. She is approved for Day - Night VFR only and I will
obtain the repairman certificate. Thank you FAA !
First flight whenever there is no wind - I'll keep you posted.
Some pictures of the paint job were sent to Peter Thomas a while ago for
incorporation into the webpages - does anyone know whether he is around ?
Shouldn't the webpages of Europa Aviation be updated, too (XS, new
completions) ?
<Thomas > Europa UK81
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