Good discussion on tri vs. mono. I couldn=92t agree more with Roland and D
avid Joyce.
Full disclosure: I am the US Europa Dealer and an owner operator/builder.
Whether you choose a mono or trigear, the Europa is still the finest flying
sport aircraft after all these years. It is delightful to fly, yet provid
es excellent cruise performance with toughness to absorb shocks and bumps a
nd shake it off and is very repairable for builders who are unfortunate eno
ugh to have a minor mishap.
It is a love hate relationship between the mono and trigear. The trigear p
enalty of extra drag and weight with excellent ground handling (and no retr
act test or specialized equipment needed for maintenance of the wheel) vs a
retractable mono that is lighter, has the potential for less drag, larger
baggage capacity, looks cool, but has no similarity with a typical conventi
onal gear unless the conventional gear is placed 7 inches apart. The mono
is easy to land for me, even on asphalt, as long as I am sharp, on my game,
proficient and have drug the strange field so I know if there are hidden s
wirly wind conditions near the touchdown point if cross winds are present.
Mono:
I have sat through a few oops landings, but believe it or not, also runway
departures on takeoff. Old habits die hard, this is not a typical tail dra
gger. My bad experiences was not with bad or non current pilots, just a mo
mentary lapse of applying the proper procedures at the right moment. On ta
keoff, keep the stick back hard until 35Kts, small precise rudder inputs, a
nd do not allow the airplane velocity vector to go outside that 7 inch whee
l footprint. On landing, the same is true. The aircraft must have its vel
ocity vector and alignment dead on the runway centerline, wings level, at t
he precise moment of touchdown for a smooth roll on landing. It gets sport
y if alignment is not precise or the stick is relaxed with or without power
below flying speed. It is getting tougher for new pilot/builders to get i
nsurance due to ground loop/prop strike potential. Second hand owners in t
he US with the mono do not fair well. In my opinion, it is their failure t
o get a proper checkout and loose their bad habits. Maintenance wise, the
wheel well is the black hole of Calcutta. It is close to the ground (layin
g on the cold ground), and extra equipment is needed for tire removal, retr
act tests and lifting equipment.
Trigear:
You must have a speed kit or performance is dismal. That means more weight
and time. Baggage bay area is lost, the cowl is more difficult to get off
with a three blade prop around that nose leg, it has hand brakes which wor
k well but for some are different, nose gear shimmy is a problem if set ver
y light, and precise steering more difficult if set tight. Cross wind or s
trange field landings with pesky wind gusts are a piece of cake. Mile long
taxi backs with a strong crosswind will eat brakes and may overheat them.
Differential brake steering means there are two more brake pads to wear ou
t and an extra brake cylinder to maintain. Field blown tire drills are rar
e. Brake failure is more likely. Brake failure, means no ground steering.
If a tire failure does occur, the FBO has a trolley normally, and one onl
y has to put his back under the spar and lightly push up and raise the whee
l for the trolley or tire change. Piece of cake. With a tow bar, it is ea
sy to haul and maneuver for a operator/ mechanic. There is good clearance
for underside maintenance which allows working on a comfortable creeper.
I like both types of gear. But an owner operator must look at all sides of
the issue for his long term ownership. You are doing the right thing by a
sking the questions now. Go fly both and if the test fly plane is rigged a
nd properly balanced, with stall strips you are in for a treat.
I=92ve done some other writings on maintenance and techniques and they are
either on my website, or emails are available in the matronics archives or
Europa Club website with many other excellent tech articles. I=92ve attach
ed my personal notes on flying the mono in .PDF format. The trigear never
needed any landing or flight articles but maintenance techniques are availa
ble.
Best Regards,
Bud Yerly
Europa trigear, 914, Airmaster
Custom Flight Creations, Inc.
US Europa Dealer
Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for Window
s 10
________________________________
From: owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com <owner-europa-list-server@matr
onics.com> on behalf of Roland <schmidtroland@web.de>
Sent: Friday, November 24, 2017 6:02:24 AM
Subject: Europa-List: Re: Mono wheel versus Tri-gear
The Europa is the right decision anyway :-)
When I decided to buy a Europa I made a ride in the Monowheel with Andy Dra
per. Andy as a very skilled pilot had no problems in handling it of course,
but I became Aware, that it would be too much of a challenge for me as an
average Pilot, especially in windy conditions. So I went for a XS Trigear w
ith a Rotax 914 and never regretted this decision. I want peace of mind and
don't need the thrill of the Mono. The Trigear is very easy to land and on
the ground in general when one gets used to the steering with the differen
tiol brake.
Regards
Roland
PH-ZTI
XS TG 914
Read this topic online here:
https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fforums.m
atronics.com%2Fviewtopic.php%3Fp%3D475499%23475499&data=02%7C01%7Cbudyerl
y%40msn.com%7C25987b8fa6ef4b93fc3208d5332ba176%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaa
aaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636471184831077389&sdata=HqDfydO2Iy0fkKJYxz9C%2FOXQ%2B2g
6mFlQm6kaTC%2BnxAU%3D&reserved=0
F%2Fwww.matronics.com%2FNavigator%3FEuropa-List&data=02%7C01%7Cbudyerly%4
0msn.com%7C25987b8fa6ef4b93fc3208d5332ba176%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaa
aaa%7C1%7C0%7C636471184831077389&sdata=uOaHuSmJwYiIF369j1wCp%2FZR9AlN4p3g
8CnlOxyoUUE%3D&reserved=0
F%2Fforums.matronics.com&data=02%7C01%7Cbudyerly%40msn.com%7C25987b8fa6ef
4b93fc3208d5332ba176%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636471184
831077389&sdata=NtEc%2F0DrKp2iw3BKSMu2Pi74PePTYOFVAQ9xlnuWpy0%3D&reserved
=0
F%2Fwiki.matronics.com&data=02%7C01%7Cbudyerly%40msn.com%7C25987b8fa6ef4b
93fc3208d5332ba176%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C63647118483
1077389&sdata=yCn1074bTvX2CQ%2Fba%2BTQuHP5Vmywd%2BSlIdJ9IM9tCbo%3D&reserv
ed=0
F%2Fwww.matronics.com%2Fcontribution&data=02%7C01%7Cbudyerly%40msn.com%7C
25987b8fa6ef4b93fc3208d5332ba176%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0
%7C636471184831077389&sdata=FzNimPrCTuf4X386Ck89syl0AW1EgsAlvgcN6mxEIps%3
D&reserved=0
|