Hi Dave.
The weights of the XS series of Europas seem to be coming in around 850-900 lbs.
Mine came in at 888 .lbs. I think Europa is still using the weights of the
Classic series with minimum equipment and panels in their advertising.
In your comments about being at max. gross weight with two people, let me say
this! In the year 2000 we flew from Florida to Arlington Wa. along side the
company a/c N914EA. My a/c was at 1440 lbs. and I'm sure N914EA was in the same
range when you looked at how loaded the baggage compartment was on both a/c. The
aircraft flew fine at this increased weight with out any problems. When we
arrived in the "Rockies" we saw that the 914 engine was up to the task at hand
and the increased density altitudes were not a factor in the take off even at
the 1440 gross weight. The one thing we learned, was that, do not retract the
gear until we had a couple hundred feet of altitude. In doing so, when the flaps
retracted, we lost some of the lift in the thin air, and the plane would lose a
little altitude before regaining a positive rate of climb.
To all of you,,, Who are reading this, pleeease do not take this as an
endorsement to overload your aircraft. Most of our cross country flight was at
altitudes of 13.000 to 17.500. We did not have a lot of turbulence at these
altitudes and we were comfortable with our flight profiles that we were not over
stressing the aircraft.
Jim Brown
N398JB
DJA727@aol.com wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I am rapidly approaching completion of my airplane -- the long wing version.
> My official list of action items is down to 11, and I should get 2 or 3 done
> today. Yesterday for the first time, I weighed the airplane. That leads to
> some questions:
>
> I checked the web site and they show a typically equipped empty weight of 750
> pounds for the short wing and 790 for the long wing mono wheel. That is a 40
> pound weight difference due to the bigger wings. I checked the Europa club
> and the weights of a short wing, 914 equipped mono airplane average 860
> pounds, with a low of 782 and a high of 947. If these airplanes had long
> wings, this would translate to:
>
> average 900 pounds.
> Low 822 pounds.
> High 987 pounds.
>
> With the increased performance of the 914 engine over the 912S (15% at sea
> level and more above that), one would think the airplane could carry more
> weight. There is no difference between the max gross of any Europa airplane,
> regardless of the engine. I know the structure is the reason for this, but
> the max weight of the long wing is also listed the same as the short wing,
> even though it has an ultimate wing loading of 10.89 Gs, vs 8.55 for the
> short wing. In ancient times, I did flight test work for the Lear Fan and we
> routinely flew the airplane over the max gross planned. So here is my big
> question to the group:
>
> My airplane looks to weigh about 926 pounds empty. In the real word (just
> between the two of us!), what gross weights do people typically operate this
> airplane? If you put 2, 180 pound people in a 900 pound empty weight short
> wing airplane with full fuel, you can cannot carry anything else, since you
> are right up against max of 1370.
>
> I don't have the operating manual for the long wing airplane, so I don't know
> what the official number will be yet. The good news is the CG falls right in
> the middle, so I won't have to do any adjusting there. I did get carried away
> with system redundancy and equipment, but all in all, it should be a good
> airplane. Theoretically, I could pull it out the door and fly it today. It is
> ready - I'm not and the FAA is not either - yet.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Dave
> A227
> Mini U2
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