The Europa AL Europa TG is a two-seat (side-by-side) single engined composite
mid-wing light aircraft. The Europa kit plane was designed and developed by Ivan Shaw as a kit aircraft that can be
built and stored at home. The Europa design began in January 1990, and the Europa Aircraft
Company Ltd. was formed at Kirkbymoorside, Yorkshire, UK. in 1991 by Ivan Shaw to develop and market the Europa light aircraft.
The first prototype, G-YURO, was registered on 6 April 1992 and flew first on 12 September 1992.
Popular Flying Association certification (PFA 220-11981) was gained in May 1993. The first model of the Europa was the Monowheel. With
a single retractable wheel in the centre of the fuselage and retractable outriggers on each wing the overall drag of the aircraft is minimised
and therefore you have the advantage of high speed with excellent fuel economy. The aircraft underwent flight testing in line with JAR-VLA requirements
in 1993 and was introduced in the United States in 1995. The Europa Monowheeel, or Europa Classic was a succes. Further development, the follow-on
aircraft Europa XS, introduced a couple of key improvements to the design. First of those changes was a move from glass-over-foam
construction for the wings to a more modern molded-shell design. Each of the semi-mid-mounted wings are easily removable, a task simplified by carriage of the fuel in
the fuselage and special stubs to transmit aileron and flap commands to the control surfaces Tthe convenience of removable wings allows the
aircraft to be housed away from the airfield during the non-flying periods. To expand the range of the Europa XS a tricycle undercarriage was
developed, known as the Europa XS TG. Although the fixed undercarriage imposes a slight drag penalty, fitting the optional speed kit minimises this effect resulting
in only a very slight reduction in top speed compared to the Europa XS Monowheel. The trigear is a mix of the normal tricycle gear with a free-swiveling nosewheel.
The nose gear is a castoring fork type with the same size wheel as the main gear. Steering is by differential braking on the main wheels.
The nose wheel suspension is a dual system, the secondary safety cable limiting the total movement of the leg should the primary system fail
thus minimising the risk of prop strike. The Europa XS Trigear can be supplied with a number of different engines, although those from Rotax are recommended.
The Rotax engines currently range from 80 HP through to 115HP. The latter unit being turbocharged. In September 2008, the Europa brand was purchased by Swift
Technology Group. Over 1000 kits of the Europe tri-gear and monowheel versions are sold.
On 29 January 1996, Europa AL Europa TG s/n 247 was registered G-BWON in
the UK as a Birks GT Europa with serial number PFA 247-12720 by G.T
Birks, Marlow. The kit plane was built by George Teasdale Birks and flew first in
1997, powered by a Rotax 912 UL piston engine. The Birks GT Europa was
fitted with a large retractable mainwheel on thefuselage centreline, a steerable tailwheel coupled to the rudderpedals and outriggers mounted on the
wings. Since the aircraft was modified to a Europa Classic Tri-Gear. On 8 January 2003, ownership of Europa G-BWON changed to the Trustee: Ripley Technical Flyers,
Ripley. Registration PH-MZW was reserved by the Dutchman M. Zwakenberg on 21 October 2008. On 7 December 2008, the Europa G-BWON was ferried Hoogeveen by its new
owner and on 6 January 2009, the G-BWON was registered with MZ Beheer BV, Lemelerveld, Netherlands. On 9 September 2009, reservation for registration PH-MZW was
cancelled by the Dutch CAA. On 14 October 2009, registration G-BWON was cancelled and the aircraft was registered PH-MZW as a Europa AL Europa TG with
MZ Beheer BV, Lemerveld, on 5 November 2009. Europa TG PH-MZW is fitted with a Rotax 912 UL DCDI 81HP. 4-stroke piston engine.
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