Jeremy, for what it is worth I wouldn't bother with an
inter cooler . I have flown from the Arctic to the Sahara
with my 914 working nicely without one. I am far from
skinny, at least by European standards and 6' 2" but am
very comfortable in the standard XS cabin. My advice would
be to keep it simple and above all to keep it as light as
possible. Check out the weights of aircraft on the Europa
Club website and you will find a range of 150 lbs or more
between the lightest and heaviest 914 XSs, and there is no
doubt about which end of the spectrum will perform
better.have never known any of my friends have difficulty
getting into either a trigear or a mono and haven't seen
anyone with a step.
Although we can get a bit critical of the LAA at
times it is worth saying that the fatal accident rate of
LAA aircraft is much the same as UK certified aircraft,
whereas the story with US experimentals is rather
different.
Happy building, David Joyce,G-XSDJ
Jeremy Fisher <jffisher@gmail.com> wrote:
><jffisher@gmail.com>
>
> I recently took over a Europa XS project that has most
>of the structure now complete. I am based at an Airpark
>on Cape Cod in the US, and previously built a Lancair
>360.
>
> After going through the aircraft and all of the books, I
>have a couple of questions, and would be grateful for any
>inputs or advice. In particular:
>
> 1. I just bought a refurbished Rotax 914. Is it worth
>the hassle to fit an intercooler? The advice from the
>outfit that refurbished it is not to bother, as the
>engine will adjust for any issues with the temperature of
>the inlet air.
>
> 2. Access to the cockpit appears to be pretty awkward.
> Has anyone tried to install a step to assist, or is it
>easier to get in than it looks? In addition, do you need
>to reinforce the wing upper surface where you have to
>step to get in, or is it strong enough to take size 10
>boots?
>
> 3. I am far from impressed by the cooling set up, and I
>know that lots of people have modified the standard
>system. Has anyone used the Laminova oil to water
>cooler, and if so, which size did you use, and what was
>the result?
>
> 4. Where can I find the pattern for the oil reservoir
>mounting plate? My manual refers to it, but it seems to
>be missing from my documentation.
>
> 5. For those of you who are not cursed with the LAA,
>has anyone installed an autopilot pitch servo connected
>to the system without changing the lateral pitch tube as
>per the factory installation? It would be both expensive
>and fairly difficult for me to change it at this build
>stage. I am considering a couple of alternatives and
>would like to learn from anyone else's experience.
>
> 6. My wife and i are both pretty skinny (she is
>slender, i am skinny!). Do you find that widening the
>cockpit at the shoulders as per the Mod List is worth it,
>or do you not have any problem with the standard cockpit
>in practice?
>
> Thank you for any advice that you can offer.
>
> Jerry Fisher
>
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