As John Grant has mentioned, the Europa tent was a very busy place during Sun N'
Fun. As a matter of fact, they sold my fuselage right out from under me, so I
will have to wait for a newer one. Aw,, Shucks!!
I got to take a ride with Peter Clarke and asked him to ring it out a bit. We
did Immelmans, rolls, and loops. I have flown many times in a Decathlon and it
cannot hold a candle to the aerobatic capability of the Europa. The Europa is
smooth and gracefu.
I flew to Sun N' Fun with two RV drivers and a Glassair driver. To my great
pleasure, the RV drivers have become very impressed with the Europa. The
Glassair driver cannot get beyond the monowheel, but he is pretty weird anyway.
He is an engineer in the worse sense of the word. (Forgive me out there all the
rest of the engineers.) As the Europa would fly by, more and more people have
made very positive comments about the design. I believe that in the years
ahead, the Europa will become the next RV in America. It is a much prettier
airplane, easier to build, and with the NSI Subaru engine options, (turbocharged
producing 140 hp) the muscle car flyers will be attracted.
In America, many builders are holdovers from the muscle cars. The new RV-8 is
attractive to them because of the possibility of putting an IO-540 in it. We
want to fly fast, climb fast, and have as much power as possible. As Europas
show up with turbocharged engines, and produce the performance other planes are
doing on much higher hp, their popularity will increase in quantum leaps.
In the next three months, many engine options are to be tested in the UK, so
this is a very exciting time in Europa history. Additionally, NSI is developing
another propeller blade option to the Warp drive blades, as they begin to
cavitate at about 150 mph, or 130 knots. They have tested a blade that provided
15 knots increase in speed without addtional power as a result.
There was a Norton Rotary engine at Sun N' Fun that will go on the Lakeland
trigear model for testing. This produces 100 hp and is lighter than a Rotax
912. Its' only downside is that is produces this hp at a high rpm, and may
prove to be a screamer. At this time the NSI Subarus are the cats meow, and
something will have to really jump out to be better.
As you can read, Sun N' Fun was very exciting this year, with many good options
on the horizon for the Europa. I believe that the resale on this airplane will
be outstanding for the builders. In the same class as the RV's, Glassairs, and
Lancairs. Not in terms of total dollars, pounds, etc... but in terms on return
on investment. Unlike a Kitfox, et al, that after you spend $30,000 to build,
you can sell it for $22,000.
Even though it will take us longer than we expected to build the Europa, the
extra time will be worthwhile. The more I learn and see about the Europa, the
more pleased I am with my decision to purchase. I know there are difficult
building days ahead, but that is part of the pleasure and satisfaction of
airplane building. And the benefit of the Europa being more difficult to build
than advertised, is that there will be a market for resale for people who do not
want to undertake the difficult task, but cannot live without a Europa.
Sorry for the length of this letter.
Larry Boggs
Hoosier Europa Builder
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