Hi Mike, great presentation :) I own a Europa XS Monowheel and flown her for 375 hours now and I have never had any problems landing here or taxiing on the ground. Ground loops where more on the older Classic version where the tailwheel was mounted much further forward than the XS I fly. I'we landed in 25 knots crosswind with no problems Just remember the 175 kts cruise at 10 k feet is with the Rotax 914 with the turbo witch also uses a bit more fuel but not much. (Witch I have :) ) Otherwise it is a great tourer for two people and 35kg luggage capacity and 70 liters of fuel. Takes of in less than 150 meters fully loaded and lands within 200 meters. My stalls at around 45 clean and 38 kts with flaps and gear out
Thanks for this comment. I’m thinking of buying one of the mono wheels and my only concern is the one mentioned of prop strike as I would be flying mostly in and out of grass strips. What’s your view and experience on this? Thanks, Ian
@@ian757 I’ve never had a problem flying of grass strips and down to 200 meters in length😊 Just keep in mind to take of in a three point attitude and lett the tailwheel leave the ground last and realease a bit backpressure on the stick when airborn to build airspeed. It just jumps in the air when she will fly at about 50-55kts. And the same for landing. Three-point attitude with tailwheel touching down first and stick all the way back to have tailwheel controll immediately after touchdown😊 You’ll get used to the handling of the Monowheel. And try to get a hold of the XS, not the classic. It’s the classics that have had an issue with groundloops and propstrike mostly because og the tailwheel beeing almost 1 meter closer to the main wheel
Mike, mostly a great video - but may i point out some added detail to improve the accuracy of your report? 1) The Europa factory originally made 'Classic' kits, where they provided factory-made mouldings and spars along with wire-cut foam, to homebuilders. The XS was a later development (now promoted by the factory) offering: factory prefabricated touring wings (which were faster to finish), the Motor-glider wings option, and a different firewall-forward layout (XS-FF). 2) The Mono can be converted to a TriGear for ~£7k in parts and an owners build time of around 3-4 weeks. 3) The VNe (not the cruise speed) for the XS Mono and Trigear is 165Kts and a realistic cruise speed in anything other than still/non-turbulent air, is typically ~110-120kts using 13-16lit/hr if fitted with a Rotax 91x engine and fixed-pitch or VP Prop. 4) 'Ultimate' means absolute maximum g-loading based upon various safety factors - that are applied as a result of being a homebuilt aircraft (unlike factory aircraft - which have closer build tolerances and therefore more exacting limits). That said, for anyone in the UK, the aircraft is not Permitted to be aerobatic in the UK/under the LAA regime - so the g-limits are a bit academic 5) I have built and flown both types, and the market prices as of 2022 are distorted in the case of the Monowheel by the ground handling - mostly de to insurance perceptions. Many Mono owners swear by their aircraft for all of the weight and performance reasons - but they are the people who have taken the time to do the learning/training about how to handle the Monowheel. It can certainly be tricky on hard runways, but are benign on grass - and offer more ownership 'satisfaction' (the more you put in, the more you get out - kind of thing). But if you want to go touring and land anywhere with a firm surface runway, the TriGear is easier to own. 6) Prices (UK - 2022) are typically ~£36k for a Tri Gear and £~£27-30k for a monowheel. Gleaming examples will fetch ~£7k more, neglected examples maybe up to ~£7k less - but will probably need remedial work by the new owner. 7) The Monowheel is not a traditional taildragger - in the sense that one must keep the tailwheel in contact with the ground below ~35kts. It takes some training and practice to get it right. It laps up rough surfaces and is very capable, within limits. 8) The Europa Club has a fantastic knowledge-sharing and touring fraternity and might be the best type-club in the World. Sales and wants can be found on its website - [www.theeuropaclub.org/the-club/sales-and-spares-member-adverts]
An interesting topic and nicely presented, Mike. I have to say I do prefer the look of the conventional tri-gear over the mono wheel… which looks so ungainly on the ground, but do admire the pilots who take the mono wheel on (I hear they’re more difficult to land until you crack it!)
@iancaesar427 I certainly hope not! The mono has to be flown with care, that's for sure but is perfectly predictable and a pussy cat on grass. I only ever use the wheel brake for power checks. It is really important to keep the steerable tailwheel firmly in contact with the ground to ensure directional control so using the brakes is not a good idea. The Monowheel XS is vastly improved over the classic, with longer out riggers to prevent waddling which keeps the critical laminar flow wing, wings level, prior to the ailerons switching on at about 35kts. The mono XS also benefits from having an extended stinger type boom for the tail wheel, which increases the wheel base and places the aircraft in the flying attitude, negating the requirement for lifting the tail and running on the main wheel only prior to lift off. The accepted take off technique is to leave the stick on the back stop until the aircraft is ready to fly and to keep the ailerons neutral. G-JHKP featured several times (in cockpit shots) in the video, has a CS prop and 100hp Rotax ULS. As it leaps into the air, we relax the back pressure on the stick and adopt a sensible climb attitude. The elevator is very powerful and responsive and the tail can be raised long before the rudder becomes effective enough, to provide directional control. However, raising the tail in the normal way as per Auster Chipmunk Tiger Moth etc must be avoided as it puts the aircraft on it's main wheel, creating a single pivot point, about which the aircraft can and will yaw left. It does this for several reasons. Prop wash, P factor and the left wing being forced down onto the left out rigger, by the aircraft rolling in the opposite way to engine rotation. These all cause a left yawing force. Any cross wind from the left makes things worse. I am of the belief that experience and the redesigned extended tail wheel and outriggers of the XS have improved things hugely. In the Classic version raising the tail and trying to pick up a low wing were fraught with danger during acceleration. Ailerons not working, not working, not working but producing drag. Bang ailerons working at full deflection! Fully held off landings are required, so the stick hits the back stop at touch down, pinning the very effective steerable tailwheel back on the ground. I love our Mono XS. 14lph at 120kts 18lph at 130kts 1500fpm climb solo 1000 fpm @MTOW. Having several 1000 hours tail wheel flying and gliding coupled to 10,000 monowheel glider and motor glider take off and landing help I'm sure, I have been flying mono's of one sort or another for almost 50 years. Despite that I am very cautious on Hard Runways and will not entertain them in any sort of x-wind, whilst I've coped with 18kts from the left on grass. G-JHKP is comfortably operated from it's home 550m grass Strip and is airborne in 200-250m and takes 300- 400m to roll to a stop without resorting to the wheel brake. Using the brake will lighten the load on the tail wheel and risks loss of directional control.
The Classic is more prone to groundloops than the XS😊 Due to the tailwheel beeing almost 1 meter closer to the mainwheel. Never had any issue with groundloops with my XS neither on grads or asphalt😊
For a professional musician Ivan Shaw is one fine aircraft designer. I've got some experience with gliders and motor gliders so the Classic would be my choice as monowheels hold no terrors for me. Get the impression I'd like one? Oh yes please.
Ultimate stress load. This is the maximum G loading that the aircraft will take before it breaks. At that G loading parts will already be strained to maximum and will be permanently deformed. But will protect the occupants. 8 G is a lot. Most I've pulled is sustained 5G in a Jet Provost, in Yorkshire
In the first few years of Europa production the mono was in greater demand but in time the Tri-gear model became more popular. I really feel like the two don't really compete with each other as the pilot who is interested in a Tri-gear is not interested in it for it's appearance, but for the easier ground handling.The tri-gear pilot is unlikely to want a Mono just like Mono pilot is unlikely to want the Tri-gear version. Former Flying magazine editor Richard Collins said of the Piper Tri-Pacer vs Piper Pacer, " A Pacer owner wouldn't trade his Pacer for two Tri-Pacer's" I feel it is similar with the Europa type's. The Mono is unique, requires a little more awareness of the factor's affecting it's ground handling, it use's less field length when on grass due to less rolling resistance. The mono will carry greater payload, due to it's lighter empty weight (40 to 50 lbs. less). No two aircraft behave the same the reason's are many, for ex. C of G, tire pressure, tire size & manufacture, outrigger length, rigging, engine & propeller etc.
Great video Mike. My favour light plane is the Shark and the Black shape prime. I'm not sure if they are available as yet in the UK. Thanks for posting.
Taildragger or Tri gear perhaps with interchangeable motorglider wings🤔😉😊✌️👍💜 Not sure if the latter is as good as other motorgliders especially the new breed. Interesting aeroplane though. I think that they're doing a 600kg version? Now UK has LSA classification and matches with the US, the US are set to update and expand their LSA catagorory by the end of 2023, so the mismatch will come back into play again🤔🙄☹️ Is that barrier to entry for UK firms into the US market (amongst many others)?
Interesting, I'd be worried about a prop strike on bumpy surfaces. My dad nearly bought one, but even as an ex glider pilot (in the early days of the classic?), he was put off by the mono-wheel. The Tri Gear or taildragger seems a much better proposition. If they can make a 600kg version for LSA type market I'm sure that they'll have a decent market share.
Hi Mike, great presentation :)
I own a Europa XS Monowheel and flown her for 375 hours now and I have never had any problems landing here or taxiing on the ground. Ground loops where more on the older Classic version where the tailwheel was mounted much further forward than the XS I fly. I'we landed in 25 knots crosswind with no problems
Just remember the 175 kts cruise at 10 k feet is with the Rotax 914 with the turbo witch also uses a bit more fuel but not much. (Witch I have :) )
Otherwise it is a great tourer for two people and 35kg luggage capacity and 70 liters of fuel. Takes of in less than 150 meters fully loaded and lands within 200 meters. My stalls at around 45 clean and 38 kts with flaps and gear out
Thanks for this comment. I’m thinking of buying one of the mono wheels and my only concern is the one mentioned of prop strike as I would be flying mostly in and out of grass strips.
What’s your view and experience on this?
Thanks,
Ian
@@ian757 I’ve never had a problem flying of grass strips and down to 200 meters in length😊 Just keep in mind to take of in a three point attitude and lett the tailwheel leave the ground last and realease a bit backpressure on the stick when airborn to build airspeed. It just jumps in the air when she will fly at about 50-55kts. And the same for landing. Three-point attitude with tailwheel touching down first and stick all the way back to have tailwheel controll immediately after touchdown😊 You’ll get used to the handling of the Monowheel. And try to get a hold of the XS, not the classic. It’s the classics that have had an issue with groundloops and propstrike mostly because og the tailwheel beeing almost 1 meter closer to the main wheel
Mike, mostly a great video - but may i point out some added detail to improve the accuracy of your report?
1) The Europa factory originally made 'Classic' kits, where they provided factory-made mouldings and spars along with wire-cut foam, to homebuilders. The XS was a later development (now promoted by the factory) offering: factory prefabricated touring wings (which were faster to finish), the Motor-glider wings option, and a different firewall-forward layout (XS-FF).
2) The Mono can be converted to a TriGear for ~£7k in parts and an owners build time of around 3-4 weeks.
3) The VNe (not the cruise speed) for the XS Mono and Trigear is 165Kts and a realistic cruise speed in anything other than still/non-turbulent air, is typically ~110-120kts using 13-16lit/hr if fitted with a Rotax 91x engine and fixed-pitch or VP Prop.
4) 'Ultimate' means absolute maximum g-loading based upon various safety factors - that are applied as a result of being a homebuilt aircraft (unlike factory aircraft - which have closer build tolerances and therefore more exacting limits). That said, for anyone in the UK, the aircraft is not Permitted to be aerobatic in the UK/under the LAA regime - so the g-limits are a bit academic
5) I have built and flown both types, and the market prices as of 2022 are distorted in the case of the Monowheel by the ground handling - mostly de to insurance perceptions. Many Mono owners swear by their aircraft for all of the weight and performance reasons - but they are the people who have taken the time to do the learning/training about how to handle the Monowheel. It can certainly be tricky on hard runways, but are benign on grass - and offer more ownership 'satisfaction' (the more you put in, the more you get out - kind of thing). But if you want to go touring and land anywhere with a firm surface runway, the TriGear is easier to own.
6) Prices (UK - 2022) are typically ~£36k for a Tri Gear and £~£27-30k for a monowheel. Gleaming examples will fetch ~£7k more, neglected examples maybe up to ~£7k less - but will probably need remedial work by the new owner.
7) The Monowheel is not a traditional taildragger - in the sense that one must keep the tailwheel in contact with the ground below ~35kts. It takes some training and practice to get it right. It laps up rough surfaces and is very capable, within limits.
8) The Europa Club has a fantastic knowledge-sharing and touring fraternity and might be the best type-club in the World. Sales and wants can be found on its website - [www.theeuropaclub.org/the-club/sales-and-spares-member-adverts]
The motor-glider for 45,000 is a very interesting value offer. Some old (20 years+) used Diamond motor-glider is at the same pricing nowadays...
ultimate load factor is where the structure fails.
it’s not a different design or variant 2:12
Just bought a monowheel. Looking forward to flying it many places.
I love the look of this plane
An interesting topic and nicely presented, Mike. I have to say I do prefer the look of the conventional tri-gear over the mono wheel… which looks so ungainly on the ground, but do admire the pilots who take the mono wheel on (I hear they’re more difficult to land until you crack it!)
Ditto.
There are those who have ground looped a monowheel and those who are going to. Believe me. Trigear is awesome! Very economic aircraft.
@iancaesar427 I certainly hope not! The mono has to be flown with care, that's for sure but is perfectly predictable and a pussy cat on grass. I only ever use the wheel brake for power checks. It is really important to keep the steerable tailwheel firmly in contact with the ground to ensure directional control so using the brakes is not a good idea. The Monowheel XS is vastly improved over the classic, with longer out riggers to prevent waddling which keeps the critical laminar flow wing, wings level, prior to the ailerons switching on at about 35kts. The mono XS also benefits from having an extended stinger type boom for the tail wheel, which increases the wheel base and places the aircraft in the flying attitude, negating the requirement for lifting the tail and running on the main wheel only prior to lift off. The accepted take off technique is to leave the stick on the back stop until the aircraft is ready to fly and to keep the ailerons neutral. G-JHKP featured several times (in cockpit shots) in the video, has a CS prop and 100hp Rotax ULS. As it leaps into the air, we relax the back pressure on the stick and adopt a sensible climb attitude. The elevator is very powerful and responsive and the tail can be raised long before the rudder becomes effective enough, to provide directional control. However, raising the tail in the normal way as per Auster Chipmunk Tiger Moth etc must be avoided as it puts the aircraft on it's main wheel, creating a single pivot point, about which the aircraft can and will yaw left. It does this for several reasons. Prop wash, P factor and the left wing being forced down onto the left out rigger, by the aircraft rolling in the opposite way to engine rotation. These all cause a left yawing force. Any cross wind from the left makes things worse. I am of the belief that experience and the redesigned extended tail wheel and outriggers of the XS have improved things hugely. In the Classic version raising the tail and trying to pick up a low wing were fraught with danger during acceleration. Ailerons not working, not working, not working but producing drag. Bang ailerons working at full deflection! Fully held off landings are required, so the stick hits the back stop at touch down, pinning the very effective steerable tailwheel back on the ground. I love our Mono XS. 14lph at 120kts 18lph at 130kts 1500fpm climb solo 1000 fpm @MTOW. Having several 1000 hours tail wheel flying and gliding coupled to 10,000 monowheel glider and motor glider take off and landing help I'm sure, I have been flying mono's of one sort or another for almost 50 years. Despite that I am very cautious on Hard Runways and will not entertain them in any sort of x-wind, whilst I've coped with 18kts from the left on grass. G-JHKP is comfortably operated from it's home 550m grass Strip and is airborne in 200-250m and takes 300- 400m to roll to a stop without resorting to the wheel brake. Using the brake will lighten the load on the tail wheel and risks loss of directional control.
The Classic is more prone to groundloops than the XS😊 Due to the tailwheel beeing almost 1 meter closer to the mainwheel. Never had any issue with groundloops with my XS neither on grads or asphalt😊
For a professional musician Ivan Shaw is one fine aircraft designer. I've got some experience with gliders and motor gliders so the Classic would be my choice as monowheels hold no terrors for me. Get the impression I'd like one? Oh yes please.
Ultimate stress load. This is the maximum G loading that the aircraft will take before it breaks. At that G loading parts will already be strained to maximum and will be permanently deformed. But will protect the occupants. 8 G is a lot. Most I've pulled is sustained 5G in a Jet Provost, in Yorkshire
In the first few years of Europa production the mono was in greater demand but in time the Tri-gear model became more popular. I really feel like the two don't really compete with each other as the pilot who is interested in a Tri-gear is not interested in it for it's appearance, but for the easier ground handling.The tri-gear pilot is unlikely to want a Mono just like Mono pilot is unlikely to want the Tri-gear version. Former Flying magazine editor Richard Collins said of the Piper Tri-Pacer vs Piper Pacer, " A Pacer owner wouldn't trade his Pacer for two Tri-Pacer's"
I feel it is similar with the Europa type's.
The Mono is unique, requires a little more awareness of the factor's affecting it's ground handling, it use's less field length when on grass due to less rolling resistance. The mono will carry greater payload, due to it's lighter empty weight (40 to 50 lbs. less). No two aircraft behave the same the reason's are many, for ex. C of G, tire pressure, tire size & manufacture, outrigger length, rigging, engine & propeller etc.
Great video Mike. My favour light plane is the Shark and the Black shape prime. I'm not sure if they are available as yet in the UK. Thanks for posting.
Thanks, I see you are also an EV97 pilot. No doubt we'll cross paths some day.
@@Mikejl83 That would be awesome to meet you at some point, hopefully at a fly in or event this year. Yes I have an Ev 97 Eurostar. :)
I am building a monowheel in New Zealand ...
Tail Dragger is the best looking version but rare. I’m biased as mine is the prototype one which my videos are used in your videos ?
Taildragger or Tri gear perhaps with interchangeable motorglider wings🤔😉😊✌️👍💜 Not sure if the latter is as good as other motorgliders especially the new breed.
Interesting aeroplane though.
I think that they're doing a 600kg version?
Now UK has LSA classification and matches with the US, the US are set to update and expand their LSA catagorory by the end of 2023, so the mismatch will come back into play again🤔🙄☹️ Is that barrier to entry for UK firms into the US market (amongst many others)?
Tri gear please.😉
Here's one taking off from one of my local airfields. Taken by someone I met there, baldyflier ruclips.net/video/1037VMo8fUk/видео.html
Interesting, I'd be worried about a prop strike on bumpy surfaces. My dad nearly bought one, but even as an ex glider pilot (in the early days of the classic?), he was put off by the mono-wheel. The Tri Gear or taildragger seems a much better proposition. If they can make a 600kg version for LSA type market I'm sure that they'll have a decent market share.
Mono wheel one
1000 miles = 870 nautical miles, not 930!
Mono :)