<< As it happens, I have never seen a Europa with its flaps up -so I have no
idea what "standard" gaps look like.
>>
Hi Miles,
There are many aspects of the Europa which are first seen when you complete
them. This becomes more apparent working on the fuselage, particularly in the
tunnel and in the engine installation. A few photos in the manual would be a
big help.
I have also built the classic wing. I found that the flap fit was poor until
the bottom flange is trimmed back - my bottom flange is now about 1 inch
measured from the vertical face of the closeout, but trim it 1/8 inch at a
time to avoid over trimming. The fit will improve dramatically as trimming of
this flange goes along. Ultimately, the bottom of the flap butts up against
the bottom flange, forming the flap's UP stop, so don't trim too much. I
found some irregularity was present on the inside bottom flange surface and
sanded it slightly to improve the fit. My intention is to put a thin layer of
silicone rubber on the inside of the lower flange after painting to avoid
marring the paint on the flap as it rides against this surface in flight.
One thing which may help is the gap setting between the flap and the closeout
which you have set to 5mm. Andy published a note some time back suggesting
1/8 inch (i.e. 3mm) for the gap between the vertical face of the closeout and
the nose of the flap (Andy's note was in response to someone else who noted a
large gap along the top of the flap.) I taped a scrap of 1/8 ply to the
vertical face at each end of the closeout to establish this gap while fitting
the flap, then removed it once the hinges were in place.
One oddity in my flaps occurred with the inboard hinge which is bent to fit.
Mine fit best when the part of the hinge bolted to the wing is placed outboard
of the flap mounted part of the hinge, contrary to the drawing in the manual.
The thickness of my Europa Classic flap is 2.75 inches, measured at the
inboard end of the flap extension; I don't think the extension causes it to
vary much. The gap between the top of the retracted flap and the top flange
is less than 1/10 inch over the length of the flap.
Once the flaps and ailerons are fitted the TE also requires some trimming to
get a straight line there. In my case this required trimming the aileron TE by
over 1/4 inch on the inboard end.
With wings installed and flaps retracted, aileron TE aligned with outboard end
of the flaps, there is a 1/8 inch mis-alignment between the TE of my stbd
aileron and the TE of the wing tip. Don't know whether this is due to an
error in the washout, mis-alignment of the tips, or what. Don't know how I
could have avoided this since it wasn't apparent until fitting the wings to
the fuselage.
As noted on the forum a number of times, a 1/2 inch wide (or wider?) slot is
needed in the bottom flange to allow the outrigger's downlock through; this
isn't mentioned in my manual though and some builders erroneously filed away
the back of the steel downlock.... Lots of fun fitting the outrigger
mechanism! A real feeling of accomplishment when it latches the flap down the
first time.
Regards, John A044
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