As one who will have to modify the seat pan to give a more prone position to
fit into the existing shell, I welcome the changes..... but I wonder how
much of a performance penalty there will be by raising the entire fuse
profile by 3"?
I would think the simple "bubble" profile plexiglass door window would be
less draggy?
Also, I wonder how they keep the lateral structural stiffness in the door
area if they push out the sill? Very interesting mods I must say, as these
were the _only_ two issues I have with this almost perfect design.
Watching with much interest,
Pete
-----Original Message-----
From: KarkelB@aol.com
Subject: Extra height and width in the cockpit coming soon.....
Hi folks,
just come back from the factory this weekend.The good news is
that for all you ectomorphs out there about three inches of extra head
room and two inchs of width are on the way. For the extra height i'm
afraid if you already have your two halfs of the fuselage glued ,you are
gonna miss out on that .As for the width,broad shouldered humans like me
are gonna have some room to ease that squash against the door panel on
the pilot side and likewise you could have that on the starboard side
too if your passenger is gonna be of similar width. I needed that extra
width, so Andy and i had a discussion of the possible options to ease
the pressing of the left shoulder against the door sill (port side) .I
suggested an extension of the door length so as to lower the door seal
about three inches, this would free your shoulder from rubbing against
the door seal. It is possible,but would mean about 500 for the stress
analysis and then approval from the pfa. Andy then came up with a
brilliant idea of making a curve on the door seal around the arm.Don't
worry,the change is only interior, exterior remains the same. This is
where the extra room for your arm comes from.For extra height,a wedge is
to be inserted between the two fuselage halfs raising the cockpit by
about three inches. Another idea is the bubble glass that will be an
option.Trade off is your europa will look like a bug when viewed from
the front. I was impressed by the level of attention to the issue of
width in the cockpit. To be honest i was beggining to have doubts about
wether to continue with this project.But now, i'm a happy bunny and can
only move on to realize the dream. The factory will officially announce
these mods soon once they have finished thier tests so be patient if you
think you will need any of them.
karim.
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