After 6 years of sometimes intermittent building, C-GIET finally took to the
air on Dec. 22, 2001 at Abbotsford Airport, British Columbia, Canada.
After some adrenaline pumping taxi tests the day before, the ground roll was
very short; take-off was surprisingly easy and spectacular. A climb to
5000' including stall tests revealed a climb rate in excess of 1000 ft. per
min. clean, excellent trim using stick-mounted switches. A well advertised
clean stall, straight ahead, happened at around 50 knots IAS, stall with
flaps down at 42 knots IAS had no warning and a vicious wing drop to the
left. Recovery was easy and straightforward, but this should never occur
near the ground.
The day was clear blue with unlimited visibility, providing a spectacular
panorama from snowcapped mountains to Vancouver Island. The landing after a
40 min. flight was bouncy. I have made 6 flights so far including one in
rough air and rain on New Years day which confirmed everybody's impression
of the excellent flying characteristics of the Europa even in adverse
conditions.
C-GIET is Kit #110, It is a modified Classic mono with 912S engine, ground
adjustable Warp Drive prop, airbox with outside ram air and alternate hot
air, enlarged baggage bay, XS wing spar and fitting mods, cabin heat (very
nice!) and McCreary Air-Trac Tire. The tire was initially inflated to
32psi, which has now been lowered to 24 psi, considerably reducing the
bouncing tendencies. The prop has been set at l8 degrees. Since the
temperatures have been barely 4deg. above 0C, climb performance is as good
as it gets, but a clean climb from 1000' to 4000' at 1500 ft./min. was still
very impressive. The aircraft has an empty weight of 820 lb and was flown at
1080 lb gross.
I wish to take this opportunity to thank all the contributors to the Europa
Net for their ideas, many of which have been very helpful to me. I will try
to pass on my own experiences in the future.
A Happy New Year to You All!
Peter Timm
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