1. These notes are based on the Europa fitted with the Rotax 912 engine and having the standard mono wheel and tail wheel configuration. It is hoped the contents will be helpful to coaches as briefing material when carrying out conversion training to the Europa. They should be used in conjunction with the handling notes included in the kit manufacturer's Flight Manual. Candidates for Diploma Tutorials should be familiar with the aircraft handling described in the notes.

Unusual Features

2. The Europa has some unusual features. The aircraft sits on the ground at an angle of 8 degrees, and the side-by-side seating and high nose angle make the view ahead very restricted. Particular care is therefore needed to avoid obstacles while taxiing. The outriggers are also unusual. They stabilise the aircraft while taxiing, but some gentle rocking from side to side is inevitable and might seem a little strange at first. On the whole, however, the steerable tail wheel directly linked to the rudder makes taxiing straightforward and should present no difficulty to pilots familiar with tail draggers. It is notable that the wheel/flaps cannot be raised or lowered from the right seat with the seat harness tight, although some assistance can be given to the pilot in the left seat in raising the wheel/flaps.

Take Off

3. Taking off the Europa is different! Because the outriggers are behind the mono wheel, lateral level, and hence directional control, can only be maintained when the tail is raised if the airspeed is sufficient to make the ailerons work - gone is the lateral stability so comfortably provided by the two main wheels of most tail draggers which remain firmly on the ground during the take off run after the tail has been lifted.

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The Europa has a powerful all moving tailplane and it is easily possible to lift the tail well before sufficient flying speed has been reached to provide enough lateral control to keep the wings level; indeed it is tempting to raise the tail early to improve the view over the nose, and also because getting the tail up early during the take off run is normal tail dragger technique. However, if the tail is raised too early, it is inevitable that lateral control, and hence directional control, will be lost. If this occurs abandon the take off by closing the throttle; placing the right hand on the wheel brake lever while gently bringing the stick back to the rear stop to put the tail wheel back on the ground for directional steering, and brake to a stop.

4. Pilots should sit as high as possible to give the best view over the nose. After line up on the runway pick a reference point to the left of the nose (it is difficult to see directly over the nose and to the right at this stage). Hold the stick on the rear stop and visually check that the ailerons are neutral. In a cross wind hold the stick into wind. Open the throttle smoothly, and for early take offs rather more slowly than normal. With the Rotax 912 engine be prepared to correct a swing to the left. At this stage tail wheel steering provides precise directional control for small rudder movements. At 35 - 40 knots move the stick forward to lift the tail and pick a reference point ahead to help keep straight. The aircraft will unstick very soon after, and often coincident with, the stick being moved forward. The speed range for raising the tail can be reduced by some 5 knots when taking off into wind as experience is gained. Prevent the nose from wandering at any stage of the take off by careful and prompt use of rudder. When the tail wheel comes off the ground directional control immediately becomes less precise and large rudder movements are necessary to maintain accurate direction. The 'gear change' in steering between tail wheel and rudder operating together, and rudder only, takes practice to master. Fly off at 50 knots. As the aircraft unsticks the nose tends to pitch up due to ground effect. Push forward smoothly on the stick to correct this pitch up and start the initial climb at 55 knots. The pitch up is more marked when doing a touch and go landing since the pitch trim will have been reset to around neutral for the approach.

Increase the IAS to 60 knots and at 100-200 ft start to raise the wheel/flaps - this should be done in stages to achieve maximum climb angle. When the wheel/flaps are retracted and locked up climb at 75 knots.

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The Europa Flight Manual recommends a cross wind limit of 15 knots for take off. However, until considerable experience is gained 7 knots from the left and 10 knots from the right should be used as limits.

Approach and Landing

5. The Europa is aerodynamically very clean - it's designed for cruising efficiency. Consequently, accurate control of approach speed can prove difficult, and it is easy to allow the speed to increase above the recommended 60 knots. However, it's important to maintain accurate speed control on the approach so that 55 knots is achieved just before the flare and round out as the runway reference point is approached. At this point close the throttle and carefully transfer the right hand to the wheel brake lever - this will prevent jogging open the throttle inadvertently as the right hand passes over and close to it on its way to the wheel brake lever after landing. Flare and round out with a continuous change of pitch attitude until the nose obscures the forward view. Hold off in this attitude with the wings level, straighten any drift with rudder, and touch down in the two point attitude with the rudder central. Keep the stick right back after a normal touch down. If the touch down is too fast the Europa will inevitably bounce. If a small bounce or balloon occurs hold the normal pitch attitude for landing and allow the aircraft to settle onto the runway. Settling may follow after a series of minor bounces with decreasing amplitude which feel untidy and uncomfortable but are quite safe. Keep tracking straight by using the rudder/tail wheel control carefully but frequently - work with the feet! At this stage tail wheel steering will predominate giving precise directional control. A pilot induced oscillation (PIO) in pitch can readily be induced if the powerful all-moving tailplane is used roughly. If a large balloon or bounce occurs open the throttle smoothly, lower the nose to the take off attitude, and go round again. The response of the Rotax 912 on throttle opening is excellent.

One final point - don't forget to select the wheel/flaps down, and engage the locking latch, when completing the pre-landing checks! A maximum of 10 knots cross wind from the left or right should be used for landing until experience is gained.

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Handling in the Air

6. Once airborne with the wheel/flaps tucked away the Europa is a delight to fly with crisp and light controls throughout the speed range. As expected, with flaps down lateral stability is reduced a little and there is a slight tendency to Dutch roll, particularly in turbulent air. However, the flying qualities with flaps down are perfectly satisfactory. The take off and climb performance is not all that sparkling with the 80 hp Rotax engine and, as described above, take off and landing need considerable practice before consistent proficiency can be achieved.

Stalling

7. The Europa's stalling characteristics are described in the kit manufacturer's Flight Manual. Stalling speeds and behaviour in straight flight with wheel/flaps up and down vary considerably between individual aircraft, and depend to a significant extent on whether or not stall strips are fitted. However, adequate pre-stall buffet is evident, and recovery from the stall is straightforward and rapid using standard stall recovery procedure. The Europa can be held comfortably in the buffet when approaching the stall in turning flight with the wheel/flaps up or down.

Additional Take Off and Landing Hints

8. More detailed notes are attached as a separate paper on handling during take off and landing. These notes are based on experience gained while converting pilots to the Europa using both rough and undulating grass runways, and tarmac surfaces. They have been written to provide guidance for coaches in overcoming difficulties which may be experienced by conversion candidates.

EUROPA - ADDITIONAL HANDLING HINTS FOR TAKE OFF AND LANDING

Take Off

1. Quite severe bouncing in pitch can occur when taking off from undulating grass surfaces. This can be distracting until experience is gained, and can only be controlled to a limited extent. The recommended technique to cope with bouncing during take off is to use small fore and aft stick movements (having first moved the stick a few inches forward of the rear stop during the early stages of take off) to maintain, on average, the normal pitch attitude needed before the tail is raised, and to prevent extreme pitch excursions from developing. Considerable care is needed throughout the take off not to over control in pitch, or move the stick rapidly fore and aft and cause a pilot induced oscillation.

2. On raising the tail to the unstick attitude three pronounced aircraft responses can be expected:

a. Bouncing in pitch may continue, or be accentuated.

b. Accurate roll control may prove difficult.

c. Quite a lot of right rudder will be required to maintain directional control. Full right rudder may be needed to achieve balanced flight as the aircraft unsticks.

d. As unstick occurs the nose will pitch up and this must be resisted by a positive forward movement of the stick until a good view ahead is achieved.

3. To maintain accurate control during and immediately after take off it is essential to move the controls smoothly, and without over controlling, in order to achieve the correct pitch, roll, and yaw attitudes.

The correct attitudes should be fixed firmly in the visual memory, after careful observation during dual instruction, and the aircraft should then be flown to match them using the techniques described.

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4. When landing it is important to avoid a bounce caused by a significant rate of descent on touch down. This requires pitch control with a fine touch, and good visual judgement, to achieve the correct touch down attitude just above the ground in the hold off, and then to reduce the rate of descent to a minimum immediately before touch down.

5. At touch down the stick should be on the rear stop. However, in this situation, the tailplane remains a powerful control still capable of pitching the nose up or down. The tailplane can therefore be used to prevent the nose from getting too high after a bounce or balloon, and this should be done by moving the stick gently and smoothly forward (only small movements should be used) to regain the normal landing attitude. The stick should then be moved right back. If the nose is higher than in the normal touch down attitude following a modest bounce or balloon, the aircraft will touch down tail first. A tail first touch down can induce a nose down pitch onto the mono wheel which in turn can induce a bounce, and a PIO can be started if the stick is handled roughly and out of phase with aircraft pitching movements. As always near the ground, the stick must be used smoothly, cautiously, and at the right rate. Generally only small movements should be made which are just sufficient to return the aircraft to the correct touch down attitude following a deviation. Using this technique will result in a well controlled landing, and will prevent a PIO in pitch from developing.

In the event of a large bounce or balloon open the throttle fully, lower the nose to the take off attitude and go round again. This is a simple and straightforward procedure assisted considerably by the rapid response of the Rotax 912.

6. The crab technique should always be used for cross wind landings.

7. It does not seem practicable to make a 'wheeler' landing; consequently the two point technique should always be used.

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8. During all take off and landing stages the aim must be to return the aircraft to the correct attitude after small deviations occur, and before these deviations get so far away from the norm that large and rapid control movements become necessary to make corrections. This is more difficult to achieve during take off than on landing.

Pilot's Arm Inertia Effect

9. Bouncing when taking off or landing on rough ground can induce inadvertent movement of the stick, and hence unwanted aircraft responses in pitch and roll, through the inertia of the pilot's arm, if the stick is held too loosely and the forearm is free to move. The pilot's arm controlling stick movement should therefore rest on his thigh to minimise the possibility of unwanted inertia inputs being generated. The stick should be gripped firmly but lightly.

The Outriggers

N111EU was built with care and a desire to keep it straight and reasonably lightweight. A walk-around reveals pleasing proportions generally enhanced by the paint scheme Kim devised. N111EU is fitted with a prototype Whirlwind constant-speed propeller, which performed well in CAFE Foundation’s evaluations.

The Design
The Europa’s small size, distinctive profile, and monowheel landing gear cause many to describe it as "cute," but the temptation to dismiss the Europa as a mere toy should be resisted. It has numerous features and innovations based upon solid design reasoning.

The 8-inch console separating the Europa occupants creates a secure "bucket seat" arrangement in the 43-inch wide cockpit. Conveniently located on the centre console are the throttle, finger-actuated brakes, gear levers, controls for the propeller, parking brake, and choke. 

The Europa’s large single main wheel retracts about halfway into the fuselage. Stiff nylon outriggers with small wheels are located near the outboard ends of the flaps and rotate to a horizontal position when the flaps are retracted. The outriggers are sized to hold the wings nearly level when taxiing. Cables from the rudder pedals are linked directly to a beefy tailwheel, providing positive steering on the ground. The rudder is actuated by a rod linking it to the tailwheel assembly.

Directional Stability
The Europa responded to rudder doublets with about four overshoots before damping rudder-free and with about three overshoots with the rudder fixed at VA in the clean configuration-well within the acceptable range. Artificially induced Dutch rolls at VA damped completely within two cycles. There was no detectable dead-band or undue breakout force observed when actuating the rudder, which has ample control authority to do its job during all phases of flight.

Roll Due to Yaw
Roll due to yaw was examined and showed adequate dihedral effect. Either wing could be raised easily by the application of rudder alone. Positive force gradients were observed throughout the rudder’s range of travel at all speeds and configurations tested.

Manoeuvring Stability
Manoeuvring forces required are reasonably light, with no undue effort required to obtain the desired result when manoeuvring at loads below three Gs. The substantial force per G-load gradients ensure that the pilot receives ample feedback from the aircraft when structural loads are imposed, making unintentional overstressing of the airframe less likely.