You are absolutely correct. Drag increases tremendously as the speed goes up.
I don't recall, but I think it's a square law relationship. I'll have to dust
off my college aerodynamics texts. The RV's are fast suckers, and still handle
quite well at low speeds it seems. I'm just itching to go up in my friend's
RV and see how it performs. I imagine it will be quite the surprise compared
to the 152 I'm training in...
Speed, however, is not why we are building a Europa. Efficiency, practicality,
rough field performance, and good looks (however an RV-6 taildragger is a hot
looking plane) are why we chose the Europa. If I wanted to go fast, I'd build
a Lancair, and probably die trying to land off-runway at 80kt with 5" tires
if the engine ever quits. The XS with those big honkin' flaps and fat tire will
instill me with lots of comfort. Just recently we had a pilot die in a Bonanza
when he went down in a soft field and flipped over when the nosewheel dug
in.
Chris
A159 XS Mono
"Alan Stewart" <alan.stewart@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
>
> > In English - 115 mph and 47.3 miles per gallon. That is just incredible.
> > My car (a 1993 Saturn SL sedan) impresses me with it's 42 to 45 mpg on the
> > highway at 70mph. Not only will I be able to go faster in our Europa,
> I'll > get better mileage! - on auto fuel!!
>
> > OK, here's a tidbit to make you all smile: A friend our ours recently
> > completed an RV-6A with the 180hp Lycoming and fixed pitch Sensenich prop.
> > He and his wife just got back from a jaunt to Sun'n Fun. They flew 3000+
> > miles, averaging 160 kts. and 9.6 gph. That translates to about 19mpg.
> Not > only does it get lousy gas mileage, it's LOUD.
>
> Far be it from me to criticise the excellent mpg from 'Thomas' Atlantic
> Crossing, for which I have the utmost admiration.
>
> As far as the comparison is concerned, personally, I think it's a little
> unfair. I know of a couple of ex-Europa people who have gone over to the
> RV-6 partly on the basis of the significant speed improvement.
> Aerodynamicists know that air resistance at higher speed severely impacts
> mpg.
>
> Slowing an RV down to realistic Europa speeds, say 115 knots, yields an
> enormous improvement in mpg though I suspect the RV is probably flying a
> little too slowly and the Europa will always beat it on an mpg basis. Is it
> not true that the Banbi is more economical again ?
>
> The Europa is certainly a quiet airplane compared to many others.
>
> Alan
>
>
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