Hi! Ilja.
There is no doubt that the Europa and its derigging is a very operationally
cost saving facility. Although I have also built a covered trailer for
outside storage. I currently have mine at home and have rigged it every time
I need to fly, although I have only just developed a dolly to enable me to
rig it on my own. With two people trying quickly I can rig in about 10
minutes, so it isn't much hassle. I belong to a local flying club which
costs 85 per year including all departures and arrivals. It also costs
1,500 to insure and 150 per annum to revalidate the Permit to Fly in the
UK. plus the official PFA Inspectors charge for his inspection contribution
to the inspection. The project cost me considerably more than I had
originally intended though since instrumentation, painting and the trailer
need adding to the "bottom line" of the costs. In my case I caught a whole
lot more expense with the Jabiru 3300 engine and the MT Constant Speed
Prop.(In the region of 50,000 including the trailer!) There is no doubt in
my mind that you could fly cheaper and earlier but with that statement
comes the down sides, slower,less convenient, more expensive maintenance and
complicated share rules in a syndicate part share.
However by buying the stages of the kit one at a time at least gets you
started and you can add to that as finances /spouse permit !!! Also it is
very easy to become disenchanted during the build, the time factor is
frustrating, mine took about 4 1/2 years and about 2,500 hours although
again mine was somewhat different being the first 3300 Jabiru powered and
with the MT Propeller, I'm given to understand that the construction of the
wings in the present day XS version is by far less time consuming than the
MKI. However in my case I bought all three construction stages together and
only went to learn to fly about half way through the build! That way you
need to be very determined and committed! The final stages ,engine and
avionics come as quite a shock financially, you must do the budget study and
I would suggest putting cash to one side
towards the later more expensive stages and engine purchases. Have you
visited my pictures on the Europa Support pages http://www.crix.org.uk
also you could approach Jonathon and Carla Moyle in your country kit No. 330
(jmoyle@epo.org) who I met during my flight experience trip to the Europa
Factory. By the way the weather you experience in the Netherlands has
nothing to do with us here in the UK!!! We have more than enough of our
own!!!
regards
Bob Harrison G-PTAG Europa Trike MKI /Jabiru 3300
-----Original Message-----
From: forum-owner@europaclub.org.uk
Subject: Questions from a wannabee..
Dear group,
Please let me introduce myself: my name is Ilja Fiers, and i am one of the
many 'wannabees' out there, looking for a project to start someday, when
time, funds and spouse ;-) would allow it. Since neither of these hurdles
have been overcome yet, i keep reading this excellent group, and for what it
is worth have not seen any 'drivel' just yet.
i've had my eye on several types of kitplanes, but find myself coming back
to the Europa every time, although it is out of reach financially for now.
In my opinion, the Europa can be built to 'real aircraft' standards, as
opposed to other kits out there that will always look 'bolted together' no
matter how much building goes into it.
My question is regarding the detachable wings. I consider this to be the key
advantage for the Europa, since i assume that renting hangarage at an
airport is both very expensive and hard to arrange. Being able to store the
aircraft somewhere else and driving it to the airport sounds a lot more
attractive to me than paying hangarage fees for long wintermonths without
flying. I live in the Netherlands, and to much of that British rain makes it
to over here...
If the detachable wings will never be used, there are other projects out
there that are less expensive to build, and would fit my 'mission' just as
well. The GBP is expensive for us over here in europe, and this is reflected
in the price of the kit i guess. I would even consider going the advanced
ultralight route, with the likes of Murphy, or Dallach.
So i am particularly interested in any comments from the field. Do you
people actually use this feature for what it is, or are most Europas
hangaraged after all? And if any of you do not use this, why is that? The
hassle of rigging/derigging the plane? BTW would it be a good idea to keep a
Europa tied down outside? I hope any of you can shed some light, and would
be very gratefull for any comments.
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