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PH-DIY first flight!
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fklein(at)orcasonline.com
Guest

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 11:44 am Post subject: PH-DIY first flight!

Frans...delighted to hear your initial performance results...trust you agree that the fairings haven't slowed your plane down, though I suspect your improvements in cooling drag reduction were a contributing factor.



Fred



On Apr 21, 2010, at 6:31 AM, Karl Heindl wrote:

[quote]Frans,

 

Congratulations to both of you and the test pilot. You will have a lot of fun with that Europa.

A cruise of 120 knots at just over 50% power is pretty phenominal. I doubt that anyone can match that. It should give an excellent range as well. Your pioneering mods to the cooling air flow, the Klein wing root fairings, and the 2-bladed Woodcomp are all contributing to that.

 

Karl



 	  Quote: 	
		   Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2010 19:50:36 +0200

 From: frans(at)privatepilots.nl (frans(at)privatepilots.nl)

 Subject: PH-DIY first flight!

 To: europa-list(at)matronics.com (europa-list(at)matronics.com)

 

 

 Performance:

 The pilot was amazed at the performance of this airplane.

 Climb was 1500ft/min with 80 knots, with the power to 100% (not 115%).

 Cruise was with 4200 rpm and a manifold pressure of 28 good for 120

 knots IAS (the airspeed indicator has been calibrated to a maximum

 deviation of 1 knots).

[b]

gregoryf.flyboy(at)comcas
Guest

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 11:44 am Post subject: PH-DIY first flight!

Jeff,

 I see that your bird is in the air again. On  behalf of those in the group that may have the same problem in  the future, or are just curious, what was the solution that you  found pertaining to your electric problems? 

 thanks in  advance!

 Greg F

 

........ 



 

 Just yesterday I couldn't bare to bring her down so I kept taking back off.  At the end of the morning I told my wife that much fun should be against the  law. 

  

 

   Jeff R.  N128LJ Gold Rush

 





 	  Quote: 	
		   	
   [quote][b]

frans(at)privatepilots.nl
Guest

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 12:21 pm Post subject: PH-DIY first flight!

On 04/20/2010 09:28 PM, Fred Klein wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   A beautiful bird indeed...I've admired your attention to detail as shown

 in your build album, but your Peace sign rondel takes the cake!


	


Hehe.

There is a story behind that:

The painter showed us pictures of his plane, and he had some bright

orange circles on his wings, so he was more visible over snow and in the

event of a forced landing in the snow.

We thought this was a good idea, especially for the underside, not just

for safety but also because our airplane is then a bit more recognisable

for family and relatives on the ground (we got too many times questions

"was that you over my house?" and no, we weren't  ).

Then of course, any decoration in those circles will make it look like

these military rondels, and we didn't like that idea.



So, to take any confusion with military rondels away, we decided to use

these peace signs.

Well, actually I proposed it as a joke, but Ilona thought it was a great

idea. Beware if you are building an airplane together with a female

builder!  You might end up with an airplane decorated with flowers

and butterflies. 



The roundel is actually bright yellow, but you can't see that very well

on the picture.



It remains to be seen how military airports will react on our arrival,

but I guess there are also quite some folks who will welcome an airplane

decorated in this style. So far everyone found it cool.



Anyway, I think apart from the message that we are peace minded, it also

has some surprise element: it is not something you expect after having

seen the airplane on the ground. So far nobody has been looking under

the airplane, except of course once we reached the recent flying status!

It appears that at least it reached the goal of making the airplane

easily recognisable from the ground. Two bright yellow "dots" on the

underside: that must be Ilona and Frans! 



Frans

frans(at)privatepilots.nl
Guest

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 12:36 pm Post subject: PH-DIY first flight!

On 04/20/2010 10:47 PM, acrojim(at)cfl.rr.com wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		   

 

 Frans; The first thing that comes to mind, about having to hold right rudder. Did you shim the engine in the engine mount to the "right" when  installing the engine...


	


We did, but I'm going to measure again to see if nothing has moved.



If looking from behind the airplane, the upper right side of the fin is

somewhat more visible than the left side. It seems like there is a very

slight twist in the fin. I can't see how we could have prevented this,

it appears the moulding was this way (and I remember that it has been

mentioned on this forum by other people as well).

This may be the reason we need to apply a bit of right rudder.

Privately, some people have mailed me that they had to fit a small

rudder trim tab as well, so it seems not to be something totally uncommon.



Frans

frans(at)privatepilots.nl
Guest

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 12:42 pm Post subject: PH-DIY first flight!

On 04/21/2010 09:26 PM, Fred Klein wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		   Frans...delighted to hear your initial performance results...trust you

 agree that the fairings haven't slowed your plane down,


	


Sure they are a contributing factor!

Too bad that I just can't take them off to see how much they contribute.



Personally I think that the prop is also a large factor. I just read in

the Europa magazine that David Joyce has written an article about props

with a large twist which will be published in the next issue of the

Europa magazine. (In fact, it was David Joyce who has guided me to the

large twist propellers). This in combination with the somewhat larger

than usual diameter and (not everyone agrees with this) the fact that it

has two blades must make it a real performer.



Well, the prop can be swapped for another one, if we really want to make

a comparison and see how much this prop contributes to performance. If

someone can lend me a 3-blade Woodcomp prop I will happily record some

performance data.



 	  Quote: 	
		   though I suspect

 your improvements in cooling drag reduction were a contributing factor.


	


At least this removed something from the frontal area, but then again, I

have a hi-top, so this should increase drag somewhat.



Frans

frans(at)privatepilots.nl
Guest

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 12:51 pm Post subject: PH-DIY first flight!

On 04/21/2010 03:09 PM, JEFF ROBERTS wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		   Frans,

 As you know... you have joined a select few that get to experience the

 wonders of accomplishment and at the same time, the joys of flight.


	


We would like to express our thanks to all of you for all the nice words

we received!



And of course the PH-DIY would never have been evolved to its current

stage without the contribution of this wonderfull Europa forum!

We have been very lucky to start building so lately, so we could

incorporate many of the ideas and wisdom from our fellow builders. Most

(if not all) mods were the result of discussions on this forum.



When we started building, we didn't know so much about airplanes as we

do now! Building the airplane and digging through the forum archives was

a very educational process. Although I have no doubt that the flying

stage will be loaded with fun, I will also miss some aspects of the

building stage (and no, I'm not referring to fitting the doors, bonding

in the main gear, bleeding the brakes and working inside the tail).



Thanks to all of you!



Ilona & Frans

kevann(at)gotsky.com
Guest

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 4:57 pm Post subject: PH-DIY first flight!

Hi Franz,



So glad to hear that PH-DIY is off to great start. Mine needs just a touch 

of left rudder in cruise, so I added a little trim tab. I just got home 

(KBIH) today from Sun & Fun having flown 4,200 nm cruising with a smile and 

my feet off the pedals.(except landing this mono)! I hope you both have as 

much fun as I am having!



Kevin

do not archive

---

frans(at)privatepilots.nl
Guest

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 1:56 pm Post subject: PH-DIY first flight!

On 04/22/2010 02:55 AM, Kevin Klinefelter wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		   I hope you

 both have as much fun as I am having!


	


Sure we have!!!

Today we both have been flying, first with our test pilot, and after a

few touch & go's we were released and could fly ourselves.



The PH-DIY is flying better than we ever hoped for! A very light and

responsive airplane. Easy to fly as well. We just have to get used to

the very light controls (everything we did in the Cessna we have to

divide by 4 or so), and of course it is interesting to reach pattern

altitude after take off before even reaching the crosswind leg. We think

it is easier to get use to, than to wean off it.



The stall is indeed benign and can be executed hands off, with and

without flaps. It is a total non event, with plenty of warning in the

form of buffeting, and the aircraft will recover without human

intervention. Keep the stick fully aft and she will descend in a rocking

motion, alternating stalling and recovering by herself.



The performance is great! The test pilot first took her out alone, to

measure the performance again, but this time in still air (couldn't

believe what he had seen during the first flight), but came back with

the famous Europa grin and told us that it was even better than he

thought it was! This thing is blazingly fast!

We put a small rudder trim tab on the rudder (btw, yes, the engine is

perfectly aligned), and the trim tab was perfect on the first try.

Problem solved.

There are a few minor issues with the avionics, but nothing serious.



We now know why we have put so much time in this project. To everyone

not yet reached the flying stage: It is worth it!



Well, no time for a more detailed review, we are going to sleep, so we

can do tomorrow morning a quick check of all essentials, and then... go

somewhere!



Frans

DuaneFamly(at)aol.com
Guest

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 2:52 pm Post subject: PH-DIY first flight!

Congratulations on your accomplishment! I bet the "grin" is even there  while you are sleeping.

  

  	  Quote: 	
		  Keep the    stick fully aft and she will descend in a rocking

motion, alternating    stalling and recovering by herself. 	
  

  Didn't they used to refer to this as a falling leaf descent. Used by  people that were not IFR rated, or in a non-IFR aircraft, but got stuck on  top of a thick cloud layer. Prevented spatial disorientation and subsequent loss  of control until you were below the cloud base and back in VFR?

  

 Mike Duane  A207A

Redding, California

XS Conventional Gear

Jabiru  3300A

Sensenich R64Z N

Ground Adjustable  Prop

  [quote][b]

rparigoris

Joined: 24 Nov 2009
Posts: 806

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 3:24 pm Post subject: Re: PH-DIY first flight!

Hi Frans



Sounds like power off stalls are benign. Have you practiced any power on stalls? 



Ron Parigoris

paul.the.aviator(at)gmail
Guest

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 3:50 pm Post subject: PH-DIY first flight!

In my airplane they are called loops.... 



do not archive



On Sat, Apr 24, 2010 at 6:24 PM, rparigoris <rparigor(at)suffolk.lib.ny.us (rparigor(at)suffolk.lib.ny.us)> wrote:

 [quote]--> Europa-List message posted by: "rparigoris" <rparigor(at)suffolk.lib.ny.us (rparigor(at)suffolk.lib.ny.us)>

  

 Hi Frans

 

 Sounds like power off stalls are benign. Have you practiced any power on stalls?

 

 Ron Parigoris

[b]

avi8ordave(at)YAHOO.COM
Guest

Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 2:55 am Post subject: PH-DIY first flight!

Whoa!

 Be very careful.

 Power on stalls can bite!

 If the ball is not in the center (right rudder), you can find yourself upside-down on your back very quickly... especially with flaps (and gear down).  This is a very effective spin entry technique (ball not centered).

 I don't know your level of piloting knowledge / skill...

 But, before you do any power - on stalls... and you should, just make sure you know what you are doing.

  

 Careful out there.

  

 Dave Conrad

 A078

 CFI - MEI - AI - Glider, ATP



--- On Sat, 4/24/10, rparigoris <rparigor(at)suffolk.lib.ny.us> wrote:



  	  Quote: 	
		  

From: rparigoris <rparigor(at)suffolk.lib.ny.us>

Subject: Re: PH-DIY first flight!

To: europa-list(at)matronics.com

Date: Saturday, April 24, 2010, 7:24 PM



 --> Europa-List message posted by: "rparigoris" <rparigor(at)suffolk.lib.ny.us (rparigor(at)suffolk.lib.ny.us)>



Hi Frans



Sounds like power off stalls are benign. Have you practiced any power on stalls? 



Ron Parigoris





Read this topic online here:



http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=295586#295586





http://www.matronics.com/N=               - MATRONICS sp;                 -Matt Dralle, L.com/contribution" =======





	


               [quote][b]

zwakie

Joined: 03 Aug 2009
Posts: 157

Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 12:46 pm Post subject: Re: PH-DIY first flight!

Frans and Illona, once more: congratulations on a job very well done! 



It was great to witness the two big Europa grins on both of your faces after having flown your beautiful bird yesterday!



FYI: 

It was good to be able to take PH-MZW up again. After you departed (to Juist, was it?), I took her up for a second flight of about an hour. 

Except for oil temperature everything performed perfectly (oil-temp gets a little high during climbs - not red-line, but a little too close to my likings).

grahamsingleton(at)btinte
Guest

Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 2:41 pm Post subject: PH-DIY first flight!

Frans

a Gurney flap is a neater alternative to a trim tab. A short length of draft excluder stuck on one side of the trailing edge will work just as well as an ugly tab. Just like the elevator trim tab but one side only. Adjust the length (150mm or so) to get correct trim.

Graham

From: Frans Veldman <frans(at)privatepilots.nl>

To: europa-list(at)matronics.com

Sent: Saturday, 24 April, 2010 22:56:13

Subject: Re: PH-DIY first flight!

--> Europa-List message posted by: Frans Veldman <frans(at)privatepilots.nl (frans(at)privatepilots.nl)>

On 04/22/2010 02:55 AM, Kevin Klinefelter wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		   I hope you

 both have as much fun as I am having!

Sure we have!!!

Today we both have been flying, first with our test pilot, and after a

few touch & go's we were released and could fly ourselves.

The PH-DIY is flying better than we ever hoped for! A very light and

responsive airplane. Easy to fly as well. 

  [quote][b]

frans(at)privatepilots.nl
Guest

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 1:02 am Post subject: PH-DIY first flight!

On 04/26/2010 12:38 AM, GRAHAM SINGLETON wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		   Frans

 a Gurney flap is a neater alternative to a trim tab.


	


I had to look up what this is. What I found is that it is similar to a

regular tab, but then with the "tab" sticking out at a 90 degree angle?

What is the advantage of this?



 	  Quote: 	
		   A short length of

 draft excluder stuck on one side of the trailing edge will work just as

 well as an ugly tab. Just like the elevator trim tab but one side only.


	


But this is called a Flettner strip, is that right?



That could indeed work as well.



Apart from the ugliness factor, which solution produces the least amount

of drag?



Frans

grahamsingleton(at)btinte
Guest

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 1:33 am Post subject: PH-DIY first flight!

The tailplane has a Flettner strip, this is there to cut through the boundary layer and break out of the "dead band" inside the BL. A Gurney flap is like half a Flettner strip, one side only so it has a bias. People use it for aileron trim, attaching the flap underneath makes it more discrete and this is the advantage. Not obvious and a bit ugly



Graham



From: Frans Veldman <frans(at)privatepilots.nl>

To: europa-list(at)matronics.com

Sent: Monday, 26 April, 2010 10:00:28

Subject: Re: PH-DIY first flight!



--> Europa-List message posted by: Frans Veldman <frans(at)privatepilots.nl (frans(at)privatepilots.nl)>



On 04/26/2010 12:38 AM, GRAHAM SINGLETON wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		   Frans

 a Gurney flap is a neater alternative to a trim tab.


	


I had to look up what this is. What I found is that it is similar to a

regular tab, but then with the "tab" sticking out at a 90 degree angle?

What is the advantage of this?



 	  Quote: 	
		   A short length of

 draft excluder stuck on one side of the trailing edge will work just as

 well as an ugly tab. Just like the elevator trim tab but one side only.


	


But this is called a Flettner strip, is that right?



That could indeed work as well.



Apart from the  ugliness factor, which solution produces the least amount

of drag?

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