I received a call last night from a fellow who is in the final stages
of aircraft kit selection. He has narrowed his choice down to the
Europa and the Glastar (a common pair of final choices). He flew
Kim Prout's Europa and has some concerns about cockpit size. He is
about 6'4" and weighs over 200 pounds. The headroom didn't bother
him excessively, but he felt his legs were bent quite far while
flying. Is there any adjustment that can be made for more leg room?
I know Kim has a Mk. 1 Europa, so there is a bit more legroom
available now in the XS (I believe it's about 1.5", on the pilot side
only). Can any more be achieved by a slight bending of the rudder
pedals or anything similar? Also, I have an early XS kit. In it, the
cockpit module is clearly the standard cockpit module, with the
tunnel cutout added. The rear edge of the luggage area is still
where it was in the original Europa, but the top of the D-bulkhead
is simply sawn off and a separate piece is supplied to extend it
back. The man I talked with last night said that he heard there
was an "interim" XS cockpit (which sounds like what I have) and that
the company then made a final mold. He said he thought the seat
might be moved back on the latest. Can anyone speak to this matter?
It's be nice if he chose the Europa - he lives about 10 minutes from
me, and it would be good to have a local builder....
Thanks in advance,
David
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