I'll run this thread a bit longer by adding that I have a mono at 490 hours. I
originally learned to fly in a J 3 cub and Champ...had about 600 hours in tail
draggers when flew the Europa. It was no problem on grass from the first
flight.
early landings on hard surface had a few minor swerves, nothing exciting.
I have a glider rating and that helps you focus on keeping it straight as the
wing tips side to side. The mono is what makes the europa unique with a sassy
look that appeals to me. I think the average pilot could handle it with
checkout,
especially if having previous taildragger time. The mono is a pain when
you need to pull the wings out for inspection or do retract tests at annual.
I need to tighten the bungee and it is the dickens to get to. If I had it all
to do over, I would opt for the wider body and high top and Bob Berbees'
conventional
gear. Been flying a Tiger Moth lately and it is also a real challange
to land, especially in a crosswind. The Europa has given me some good
experience.
Ken carpenter N9XS Mono 914
-------------- Original message --------------
From: Karl Heindl <kheindl@msn.com>
Dave,
I know, that a given Europa will weigh more with the trigear, but all Europas
differ
greatly in overall weight, depending on equipment and options, the original
Classics being the lightest.
Karl
<html><div></div>
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:35:12 +0200
From: wooburnaviation@googlemail.com
Subject: Re: Europa-List: Mono or Tri-Gear, what to choose?Mono or Tri-Gear,
what
to choose...further question..
The combination spring / bungee approach sounds like a great solution. Can't
agree about the weight though. Our group converted out mono to a trike, adding
23 pounds / 10kg. A Hoffmann C/S prop added another 5 kg ( over a warp drive).
Dave
On 25/08/2008, Karl Heindl <kheindl@msn.com> wrote:
Kevin,
The springs didn't work for me. My bungee had been mounted for about 7 years
(never
gave any trouble) it seemed an excellent idea to switch to the springs.
It really dpends which fields you are operating from. I am based at a fairly
bumpy
grass field, and the springs turn the aircraft into a bucking bronco. Especially
on landing, unless you push the stick forward,
the nose can oscillate to the point where control could be lost by an
inexperienced
pilot.
A bungee is far better for absorbing shock and much more forgiving.
So I recently changed back, but had a problem with getting the bungee as tight
as I had before, and I now have what to me is the ideal solution: a spring on
one side and a bungee on the other side, plus the safety cable. I should mention
one incident with the new bungee, where the safety cable cut through two strands
of the bungee, with the safety cable sving me from a prop strike. So now
I have all the safety plus the comfort.
If you are not operating on rough terrain, then you shouldn't have to worry with
the springs.
Regarding mono versus trigear, someone mentioned the better cruise performance
of the mono. Perhaps there is a small advantage but note that it was a trigear
that has flown around the world a couple of times, with very economical fuel
consumption and a basic 912. It also made more 'local' flights from CA to Alaska
and the Bahamas.
The weight advantage is also theoretical. I noticed that some of the more recent
monos came in with a higher weight than my tri.
Karl
<html><div></div>
> From: ksiggery@mac.com
> To: europa-list@matronics.com
> Subject: Re: Europa-List: Mono or Tri-Gear, what to choose?Mono or Tri-Gear,
what to choose...further question..
> Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:17:09 +0100
>
>
> kind of a corollary to the question; assuming you then have a tri-gear
> (as we do; G-ROOV) what is the opinion of people when considering the
> bungee nosewheel system compared to the spring system? (we have a
> bungee but are thinking of changing).
>
====================
> _=======================
>
>
>
target=_blank>http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Europa-List
ttp://forums.matronics.com
=_blank>http://www.matronics.com/contribution
<html><body>
<DIV>I'll run this thread a bit longer by adding that I have a mono at 490
hours.
I originally learned to fly in a J 3 cub and Champ...had about 600 hours
in tail </DIV>
<DIV>draggers when flew the Europa. It was no problem on grass from the
first
flight. early landings on hard surface had a few minor swerves, nothing
exciting. I have a glider rating and that helps you focus on keeping
it straight as the wing tips side to side. The mono is what makes the
europa
unique with a sassy look that appeals to me. I think the average pilot
could handle it with checkout, especially if having previous taildragger
time. The mono is a pain when you need to pull the wings out for
inspection
or do retract tests at annual. I need to tighten the bungee and
it is the dickens to get to. If I had it all to do over, I would opt for
the wider body and high top and Bob Berbees' conventional gear. Been
flying a Tiger Moth lately and it is also a real challange to land, especially
in a crosswind. The Europa has given me some good experience.</DIV>
<DIV>Ken carpenter N9XS Mono 914</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px
solid">-------------- Original message -------------- <BR>From: Karl Heindl
<kheindl@msn.com> <BR>
<STYLE>
.hmmessage P
{
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Dave,<BR> <BR>I know, that a given Europa will weigh more with the trigear,
but all Europas differ greatly in overall weight, depending on equipment and
options, the original Classics being the
lightest.<BR> <BR>Karl<BR><BR><html><div></div></html><BR><BR><BR>
<HR>
<BR>Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:35:12 +0200<BR>From:
wooburnaviation@googlemail.com<BR>To:
europa-list@matronics.com<BR>Subject: Re: Europa-List: Mono or Tri-Gear,
what to choose?Mono or Tri-Gear, what to choose...further question..<BR><BR><BR>
<DIV>The combination spring / bungee approach sounds like a great
solution.
Can't agree about the weight though. Our group converted out
mono to a trike, adding 23 pounds / 10kg. A Hoffmann C/S prop added
another
5 kg ( over a warp drive).</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Dave</DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=EC_gmail_quote>On 25/08/2008, <B
class=EC_gmail_sendername>Karl Heindl</B> <<A
href="mailto:kheindl@msn.com";>kheindl@msn.com</A>> wrote:</SPAN>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=EC_gmail_quote style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px
solid">
<DIV>Kevin,<BR> <BR>The springs didn't work for me. My bungee had been
mounted
for about 7 years (never gave any trouble) it seemed an excellent idea to
switch to the springs.<BR>It really dpends which fields you are operating from.
I am based at a fairly bumpy grass field, and the springs turn the aircraft
into a bucking bronco. Especially on landing, unless you push the stick
forward,<BR>the
nose can oscillate to the point where control could be lost by an inexperienced
pilot.<BR>A bungee is far better for absorbing shock and much more
forgiving.<BR>So I recently changed back, but had a problem with getting the
bungee as tight as I had before, and I now have what to me is the ideal
solution:
a spring on one side and a bungee on the other side, plus the safety cable.
I should mention one incident with the new bungee, where the safety cable cut
through two strands of the bungee, with the safety cable sving me from a prop
strike. So now I have all the safety plus the comf
ort.<B
R>If you are not operating on rough terrain, then you shouldn't have to worry
with the springs.<BR> <BR>Regarding mono versus trigear, someone mentioned
the better cruise performance of the mono. Perhaps there is a small advantage
but note that it was a trigear that has flown around the world a couple of
times, with very economical fuel consumption and a basic 912. It also made more
'local' flights from CA to Alaska and the Bahamas.<BR>The weight advantage is
also theoretical. I noticed that some of the more recent monos came in with a
higher weight than my
tri.<BR> <BR>Karl<BR> <BR> <BR><BR><BR><html><div></div></html><BR><BR>>
From: <A href="mailto:ksiggery@mac.com";>ksiggery@mac.com</A><SPAN
class=q><BR>> To: <A
href="mailto:europa-list@matronics.com";>europa-list@matronics.com</A><BR></SPAN><SPAN
class=q>> Subject: Re: Europa-List: Mono or Tri-Gear, what to choose?Mono
or Tri-Gear, what to choose...further question..<BR><
/SPAN>
> Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:17:09 +0100<SPAN class=q><BR>> <BR>>
--> Europa-List message posted by: Kevin Siggery <<A
href="mailto:ksiggery@mac.com";>ksiggery@mac.com</A>><BR>> <BR>> kind
of a corollary to the question; assuming you then have a tri-gear <BR>> (as
we do; G-ROOV) what is the opinion of people when considering the <BR>>
bungee nosewheel system compared to the spring system? (we have a <BR>>
bungee but are thinking of changing).<BR>>
<BR></SPAN>=====================<BR>> _========================<SPAN
class=q><BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR><BR><PRE><B><FONT face="courier
new,courier" size=2>
</FONT></B></PRE></SPAN></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><PRE><B><FONT face="courier
new,courier" color=#000000 size=2>
target=_blank>http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Europa-List</A>
ttp://forums.matronics.com</A>
=_blank>http://www.matronics.com/contribution</A>
</B></FONT></PRE><PRE><B><FONT face="courier new,courier" size=2 color000000?>
</B></FONT></PRE></BLOCKQUOTE>
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