Fred
that is true. An ideal Europa=B4s weight is around 350 kgs (below 790
lbs). That is possible w/o any extra. Also, it takes time to plan and
build extra. They are also not free!
I have that extra 70 kgs (160 lbs). More is coming!
Why?
- for a good look and luxury (painting, leather, DVD, refridgerator,
heating and defrost system etc, golden register plate etc means about 15
kgs 34 lbs penalty).
- for a safety (warning systems, extra navigation, autopilot, 2nd GPS,
TCAS, alarms, horn, nav-lights, 3 strobos, landing and taxi lights,
panel and a cockpit illumination etc, real aviation safety belts x 4 etc
means about 20 kgs 44 lbs penalty).
- for a speed and efficiency (CS-prop, very finished surfaces and glossy
painting means about 20 kgs 44 lbs penalty).
- for a family (it is 2+2 seater and that was for structural reasons and
extra belts and four place intercom about 10 kgs 22 lbs penalty).
- for me and my wife (good tempur seats, some small details, decoration
etc say 5 kgs 11 lbs penalty)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
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That is all together 70 kgs and those kilos make Romeo Tango
personalized for our taste.
For me it was the best part of the building to think about all these
extras and judge what to do and what do not.
***
Door bolts warning system:
2xmicroswitch (4 is not necessary)
some wire
one led (two is not necessary)
connected to the fuse you already have
Penalty is not more than 0,1 kg = 0,225 lbs.
You will build it about 2 hours only.
And spend money let=B4s say few bugs like 20 dollars.
It is a bit ackward to check rearbolts. Really. At least my body does
not want to twist to the left so much. It is dangerous to your healthy.
It is human not to do it always. But it is easy to check one green led.
Very easy!
You can still have your statement PULL DOOR INWARD BEFORE LATCHING and
then verify you have the green led.
Do it, for me please!
Raimo OH-XRT
Finland
From: Fred Klein
Sent: Monday, February 06, 2012 8:31 PM
Subject: Re: AW: AW: Europa-List: Deformation of canopy
On Feb 6, 2012, at 3:06 AM, Raimo Toivio wrote:
If green (should be red then!) off means bolts are in, how can you be
pretty sure system is ok? If you loose your microswitch or led or fuse
your greens are off and you think bolts are in but maybe they are not.
All,
I have followed this thread with interest as it seems to embody the
tension between keeping things simple on one hand and fitting out our
planes sufficiently to ensure safe flight on the other.
I've paid some attention to the issue of ensuring the rear shoot-bolts
engage because when fitting the doors, I found that the rear portion of
the door seemed to spring outward just enough for the rear shoot-bolts
to miss the aluminum tubing which prevented proper closure...not good!
After sitting in the left seat...twisting my body and reaching about to
determine where I could reach in order to pull in the aft portion of the
door prior to closing the lever and engaging the shoot-bolts...I
installed a simple tab on the window frames (both port and stbd) which I
could grip and pull inward. One thing I noticed while checking out my
little ergonomics exercise was that I found that I could not feel
whether or not the shoot-bolts were properly engaged or not, nor could I
readily see likewise. The fundemental idea I took away from these
exercises was that it was essential to pull the rear portion of the
window/door inward BEFORE moving the latching handle forward.
As luck would have it, after installing the plexiglas windows, I found
that the additional weight completely eliminates the tendency for the
rear portion of the window/door to spring outward and for the
shoot-bolts to not engage; however, I have not as yet fitted the tubular
rubber seal...so perhaps the conditions may change.
My hunch at this point is that my checklist MUST include an item
stating: PULL DOOR INWARD BEFORE LATCHING.
For the moment, I'm content with that and will not add the additional
complexity of a warning light system. I've had a look at about 20
Europas and, I believe, have yet to see a microswitch/LED
installation...I'm wondering how common are such installations.
Fred
A194
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