Hi Guil,
I would like to offer up a few comments. I have about 25 hours of flight
time in an RV6, including a cross country trip from Milwaukee to Florida. I
only have about 2.5 hours flight time in a Europa with no cross country
time, however I can make some observations about both aircraft.
The first is the amount of room. I don't know the cockpit width of an RV6,
however it feels smaller. The Europa looks "snug", however it is more like
sitting in a car and it feels like there is more room between the pilot and
passenger.
The baggage bay in the Europa is a little larger and more accessible than
the sliding top RV. The tilt top RV would have better accessibility.
The flying qualities are different. When compared to a Cessna, the RV6 is
responsive and exciting, however some aspects are not so terrific. The
stability is neutral and while that is fun it is a pain on a long cross
country. I flew an RV6 in IMC for about 90 minutes and it was a lot of
work. I shared the work load 30 minutes about with the other pilot and I
sure glad they were there.
The Europa is delightful to fly, the controls are light and responsive,
however the aircraft has more natural stability the RV, but the biggest
difference I noticed was vibration. The all metal RV seemed to be harsher,
the airframe does not seem to have the same ability to dampen the vibrations
like the Europa. I suspect the lower RPM of the aero engine contributes to
this. After several hours this becomes very fatiguing.
The Europa has other advantages which may be important. It is very easy to
trailer and move between home and the airport. I have just brought mine
back from the paint shop and it would have been a real pain if it was a
conventional aircraft. The Europa is very economical, and runs on
automotive fuel. The cost differential in the US is significant, in Europe
is huge. Other things to contemplate are the availability of glider wings.
In the US this allows you to fly without a medical, (even IFR) and at
altitude it is possible to cruise the glider wing model 150 knots.
As far as building is concerned, I had no experience with composite
construction and the RV was my first choice based on my building abilities.
I found composite construction much easier than I thought and I have leant a
new skill. You are welcome to look at my construction diary at
http://europa363.versadev.com/. I have been at the project for 5 years,
however in that time I have moved the project 3 times, including from
Australia to the US and I have a very demanding job. The XS kit has now
evolved since I purchased mine with options such as pre constructed cockpit
modules and pre-skinned flying surfaces that literally take years of the
construction process. A build time of less than 2 years would be
achievable, even faster if you have had a lot of model aircraft construction
experience.
Good luck with your decision, Paul
----- Original Message -----
From: "Guil Barros" <flight@metathusalan.com>
Subject: Europa-List: RV vs. Europa
>
> Let me start off by saying that im not trying to start a flame war :)
>
> Im genuinly interested in hearing peoples thoughts on the subject, up
untill i
> found out about europa kits a few days ago i was set on getting an RV-7A.
Im
> not so sure anymore.
>
> Can someone tell me a little about whats involved in building an Europa? i
can
> understand rivetting aluminum, but have never had any experience with
composite
> materials. Will i have to shape foam to make parts? wings, etc?
>
> Also, it seems that there are thousands of people with RV's, and i hadnt
heard
> of the europa till just a few days ago. Whats the community like? Is there
> anyone in arkansas who might want to give me a demo ride in one?
>
> Im really interested in the europa, i love the idea of using a smaller,
more
> modern engine (lycomings make me cringe), the fantastic fuel consumption,
the
> aestetics, etc... i guess im really comfortable with the idea of aluminum
still
> though.
>
> One other thing: i noticed that the prop-ground clearance on the monowheel
is
> rather small, what are peoples thoughts on this? are there many
prop-strikes?
>
> Right now im thinking i like the monowheel XL the most, but i need to see
how
> comfortable i would be with the taildragging, clearance :)
>
> thanks for any input you feel like giving :)
>
> -guil
> -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
>
> /QEjmQENBD5BRDwUBACQT1jGAoemyCNlw8ThUbBF31HDfKS8F78EA4AivInM29X+
> UlXXsqYaZyrLcd5IpRkW8IQfLudzVNrsdToTsLV5m1WoKKzsec0bJfCG+937oU2k
> dOq0ZZ6gatM+prKpnjyrxBlKDh7Uhg/M0/gZ41SoPJjxrGN3gSLHnb2BOMLMSwAD
> BQP/c5POAkltVR71820VP7ZAdXaqGribiojIQZ5R53TYPb/mYxKW9eveo0Ivo7rf
> YkbiXNrxDYp5UnNVzSqvyRftFHXRaUcrY0KWZPArTYhCXyPjhTS1EmxU7PSLpiy4
> mGco2i9Iqy7daapklI1A3TM/XNAafuIzMQK7oEOc+/BrlqK0JUd1aWwgQmFycm9z
> IDxiYXJyZ2ZAbWV0YXRodXNhbGFuLmNvbT6JAS8EExQDABcFAj5BRDwFCwcKAwQD
> FQMCAxYCAQIXgAAKCRCHPpT9i7BE5QYvA/9/JMyORGfA3pM865DubcLaNcRGr+iV
> Wb7Lv5G6yGU86vQSEJsYN0yxvSIZuk21NHzARa8dGeJ+ctB8TCVePC3QTVfsu9Oo
> ErQdvrGz3VkjvnCDGORuGFbLyUQTARqmopVx7Mo+82xX1zrW8RsxCIfgp2MBwbdY
> VIkVI+zZCwAphgP+Kpz4RwZlsNxj1NgQuzxUTZbqDQrYvUJXlbbPXBPQNRidJod+
> T8pY4royICI/OHHuyhtBRz95XZoGc3MmYEbyb51WYM9XeCaphEGG5GgT9i+qve9H
> hrW5Tk069H2xA+OjpQVv0PhGchsTivL3mzwwdv6JV0MC0PJIe6M7cdEmQpA=V+/h
> -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
>
>
|