Is the Europa hard to fly – will I need type training?
No, the Europa is not hard to fly. In the air, it behaves much as one would expect, and even low-time pilots can keep it right side up and pointed where they’re going without difficulty. However, no matter how much experience they may have on other types, anyone new to the Europa can find that take-offs and landings become much more exciting than preferred. Before going solo in any Europa, do get yourself checked out by a suitably experienced pilot. The monowheel Europa’s unusual undercarriage configuration means that it requires slightly unusual handling techniques, even for those who are confident in conventional taildraggers. For instance, the usual habit in a taildragger is to raise the tail as early as possible in the takeoff run. In the Europa, the elevators have plenty of power to do this at low speed, before the rudder and ailerons have enough power to keep the show on the road. You are left balancing on a pin-point (the monowheel) with insufficent control to influence the futu
