Hi Fred and others who are interested in the adventure, getting another
engine into the Europa
Some info to the time schedule
September 2006 the plane was built up and the wing load test was done. In
October 2006 I got the plane to Europa Aircraft CZ for engine installation
(was still installed on the Mock-Up) painting and making the Interior (with
my supplied blue-violet cow skin). They also changed and repaired things
which I had not made proper enough. I called that "fine tuning and
trimming". October 2007 I was taking the plane back to Germany. During 2008
we made the Electricity, Instrumentation, Panel Installation etc. In May
2009 we had a Europa Fly-In on my airfield and I discussed the engine
installation with some Europa owners.
After that I decided to proof the strengths of the system by making an
engine/fuselage load test. I made a load bridge for the cement sacks and the
four legs of this bridge were positioned on the engine fixing points.
Unfortunately one of the 4 legs was not fully located so that in fact only
three legs were able to carry the load. We put 19 sacks with total 475 kg,
the bridge weight of 36 kg plus the engine weight itself, which I forgot to
add. Than suddenly it made a short movement and the engine tray was bended,
where the double load was.
AND than I trapped into Murphy's Law:
1. Mistake: I removed the engine
2. Mistake: When I placed the engine on the ground, I forgot to remove the
oil temperature sensor from the carbon fibre oil pan
3. Mistake: I repaired the engine mounting frame outside of the plane.
During 2010 I had to get my mother into my house, as she could not live on
her own anymore. I sold her house and had to get most of her house content
into my house or to the Maltese organisation.
In spring 2011 we installed the engine mounting frame and the engine. By the
first test run we noticed that oil was coming out of the oil pan thermo
connector. So I had to repair the oil pan first.
When we were happy with the engine runs, we "tried" to get the cowl on and
found out, that the engine mounting frame was still slightly bended and the
spinner was scratching the upper cowl.
Then Murphy decided to let me go my own way: I started to think and
remembered a friend, who had got a welder licence for aeroplanes. He had
built up a Steen Skybolt Bi-Plane only by drawings and he was a very long
time the Vice President of the OUV (German Amateur Build). I bought a mobile
hydraulic engine hoist (like car repair shops have), we removed the rear
fixing points of frame and engine, aligned the engine into the proper
position and he welded direct on the plain the mounting frame correctly. He
is a man with a lot of experience. All this was taking 4 hours and I paid
only 150 EURO.
So in fact, I could be airborne since July 2009.
But one positive thing was: There were and are now cracks and deformations
between the firewall/fuselage and the engine mounting frame. The Europa is
constructed and built so strong you can trust on.
Nice plane and I am very hot to burn holes in the sky now.
All the Best,
Bruno
_____
Von: owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com
[mailto:owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com] Im Auftrag von Fred Klein
Gesendet: Mittwoch, 1. Februar 2012 18:44
An: europa-list@matronics.com
Betreff: Re: Europa-List: Smart engine istalled in a EUROPA
On Jan 31, 2012, at 7:48 AM, uvtreith wrote:
Sorry for this delay but it takes some time to make the required info ready
for you.
Please see attached pictures.
If you need more info, please feel free and contact me via the forum or
direct.
Bruno,
Thank you for posting these photos and information on your engine
installation...fascinating. As a fellow alternative engine enthusiast, I
envy you for the technical support you've received from Mercedes and Otto
Funk.
I may be mistaken, but for some reason I seem to recall that your plane was
complete back in 2006...I'm curious if you would be willing to share a
timeline of significant dates of your development test work between then and
now...(?).
Fred
|