Dino Baker wrote:
>Have been looking with interest at photo's of various Europa's in
>service and noting the variations of cowling with holes at all
>positions.
Usually the holes and the cowling shape are standard for a particular
engine installation. With the change of position of the standard Rotax 912,
the XS has a slightly different cowl shape and a smaller spinner compared
with the original model. I think there are probably not enough 914 (turbo)
models flying to make general comments, but G-ELSA (now N512SA) had an
extra hole or two compared to G-YURO, particularly a central oil cooler at
one stage. Most 912 installations look similar to G-YURO, with a large
spinner and air inlets each side, shaped like a rather squashed capital
letter "D" on the port side and the mirror image on the starboard side. The
NSI Subaru installations have smaller, round intakes slightly lower down,
and different spinners. Can't remember exactly, I have sent most of my
photos to Dave Watts for use in the Europa Flyer. Not sure if any cowl &
hole combination has been standardised for the MidWest rotary - again, not
enough flying. All seems to have been quiet recently on the Jabiru front,
and I seem to recall the first one getting fitted with that needed a
custom-made cowl. Finally, I guess the XS cowl will not need major surgery
to hide the BMW, so there may not be any clues to that (when it arrives)
---From the external appearance.
The answer is that yes, some experimentation has gone on, but where an
engine installation has been proven successful, the shape of the cowl &
inlets on the first one to reach that happy status tend to act as a model
for others using the same powerplant. There's maybe not so much continual
experimentation going on as a study of pictures might suggest, just a
variety of engines underneath. (This is where all the people already flying
can correct me if I'm wrong!)
Speaking of photos, I did find among those I passed to Dave the picture of
G-SYCO which I was seeking a while back, and it does have different
wingtips. They are turned up slightly, almost like a vestigial winglet. Now
that I come to think of it, I thought Hoerner wing tips were turned DOWN -
or is that something else? I think propellors with downwards (ie backwards)
bent tips are called Q-Tips, but that is just a snazzy marketing name.
cheers
Rowland
... that's Rowland with a 'w' ...
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