I, too, considered building an RV but elected to build a Europa instead for
several reasons, the two primary reasons being 1) it is NOT made of
aluminum, and 2) it is far more efficient. Having begun my engineering
career in the aluminum industry as a process engineer I know a few things
about the properties of aluminum, and having rented numerous aluminum
airplanes I've seen entirely too much corrosion (and this is in the
relatively benign southern California climate) to make me comfortable owning
a large expensive piece of aluminum that really wants to revert to aluminum
oxide. Toss in the much more efficient design of the Europa and the
decision, for me at least, was a no-brainer.
In my (not so) humble opinion, aluminum for aircraft will soon go the way of
wood for small boats, in each case being supplanted by composites, because
of the superior properties of composites. Even Boeing's next generation
will be mostly "plastic."
Another consideration for those of us building at home in residential areas
is noise. Were I to attempt to rivet in my garage I would soon have both
the homeowners association and the local police paying me a visit (and not
to admire my project either).
All foam is hot-wire cut and delivered ready to cover with epoxy-glass with
minimal preparation, so very little foam shaping is required, and what
little there is can be avoided by choosing the factory's "accelerated"
options.
Before you make your decision check out these sites: Tony Krzyzewski's
"build log" at http://www.kaon.co.nz/europa/index.html and the CAFE
Foundation's report on the Europa at
http://www.sonic.net/cafeweb/aprs/Europa%20APR.pdf for an unbiased analysis
of the aircraft's performance. The factory's web site
(http://www.europa-aircraft.com/) has links to many other useful sites.
Best regards,
Rob Housman
Europa XS Tri-Gear A070
Airframe complete
Irvine, CA
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com
[mailto:owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com]On Behalf Of Guil Barros
Subject: Europa-List: RV vs. Europa
Let me start off by saying that im not trying to start a flame war :)
Im genuinly interested in hearing peoples thoughts on the subject, up untill
i
found out about europa kits a few days ago i was set on getting an RV-7A. Im
not so sure anymore.
Can someone tell me a little about whats involved in building an Europa? i
can
understand rivetting aluminum, but have never had any experience with
composite
materials. Will i have to shape foam to make parts? wings, etc?
Also, it seems that there are thousands of people with RV's, and i hadnt
heard
of the europa till just a few days ago. Whats the community like? Is there
anyone in arkansas who might want to give me a demo ride in one?
Im really interested in the europa, i love the idea of using a smaller, more
modern engine (lycomings make me cringe), the fantastic fuel consumption,
the
aestetics, etc... i guess im really comfortable with the idea of aluminum
still
though.
One other thing: i noticed that the prop-ground clearance on the monowheel
is
rather small, what are peoples thoughts on this? are there many
prop-strikes?
Right now im thinking i like the monowheel XL the most, but i need to see
how
comfortable i would be with the taildragging, clearance :)
thanks for any input you feel like giving :)
-guil
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