Bob,
The Europa is a good choice for a number of reasons. There are hundreds of
them under construction with many flying. There is an active support
network. Builder support is easy to come by. Working with composites
allows a bit more flexibility than with aluminum, and is very forgiving.
Of course it all comes down to builder preference, and there is nothing
wrong with the Sonex -- it is just not as much airplane as a Europa.
I believe the Europa prototype has been flown to over 8 Gs in testing.
Aircraft built from production kits are easily capable of 2-3 +G
aerobatics, which is all you should be doing unless you are flying an
Extra or a Pitts... ;-)
We are very close -- please come visit our shop any time! We have lots of
Europa experience already.
Best Regards,
Larry Graves
AirCrafters Builder Assistance Center
Gilroy, CA
www.AirCraftersLLC.com
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Collins wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I am researching available airplanes to build and the Europa
> looks like a potential winner. The San Francisco bay area
> here has very expensive hanger rates and I am attracted to
> the idea of a trailerable aircraft. The only seemingly
> viable choices are the Europa and the Sonex, which both have
> sailplane-like wing mounting.
>
> Both planes have their pluses and minuses and I would like
> to hear opinions on both, as well as comments on any other
> competing designs. I do however have a couple of
> specific questions about the Europa.
>
> The review articles about the Europa talk about doing
> aerobatics but the G limit loads listed on the Europa
> website do not qualify for the aerobatic category. Is/was
> there a change in design direction?
>
> Thanks
>
> Bob Collins
> Sunnyvale CA USA
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