Ron...here are some pixs of Frans' install...comments below...notes about flight testing after pixs...Fred In the pix below, note the seam in the fairing at the flap trailing edge...the portion of the fairing aft of the flap trailing edge is secured to the fuselage w/ 3 screws. None of the upper surface fairing is attached to the flap...note the portion of the lower surface fairing attached to the underside of the flap. Note the screw at the underside corner aligned w/ the flap trailing edge... With wings demounted, this portion of the fairing remains...note screw #2 (concealed) behind the seam...and note screw #3 at the rearmost portion of the lower fairing (hard to see, but zoom in and you can see it)...Frans made up the closure panel...rather clever I thought > Off the cuff what would you say on a XS Mono with 914 and Airmaster > prop and fairings on the outrigger double W18s would see in > increased speed during cruise? The only flight test data I have was done on a trigear...data follows...(adjusting width of your window will help line up the tabulations). I'm hesitant to speculate about increased cruise speed for a mono...others may know how much the fixed LG impacts the overall drag of the trigear, but I suspect it may exceed the interference drag of the wing/fuse intersection. When reviewing the data, bear in mind that In any event, I've had extensive correspondence w/ a mono Classic w/ Airmaster & 912S which is equipped w/ fairings similar to mine who believes his plane benefits quite a bit from them. > Begin forwarded message: > >> From: "Justin Kennedy" >> Date: June 25, 2008 10:00:28 AM PDT >> To: "Fred Klein" >> Subject: RE: Europa wingroots >> >> Fred, >> >> Absolute cracking result. I predict you will be one of the fastest >> Europas. Not only that but in a shallow cruise decent you should >> reach >> Vne very, if not too, easily. Where and how to make the join is a >> tricky >> one. I sent you pictures of how we did it but it is quite >> arbitrary. We >> left a small amount of the under fairing attached to the flap >> which, as >> it curled down, served to stop the air spilling off the end of the >> flap >> in ground effect situations. The jury is still out on whether this is >> desirable or not. >> >> Cheers >> Justin >> >> >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Fred Klein [mailto:fklein@orcasonline.com] >> Sent: 25 June 2008 17:43 >> To: Justin Kennedy >> Subject: Europa wingroots >> >> Justin, >> >> I've been workin on those wingroot fillet/fairings. Just last >> night, I >> pulled the master part off the mold and I couldn't be more pleased. >> With just a tad of trimming, they are spot on symmetrical. >> >> I want to thank you so much for your advice and encouragement! >> >> Here are some pixs of the foam formers, infill blocking, and the >> not-quite-finished master part framed in duct tape, awaiting a final >> (hopefully) coat of dry micro and sanding. Plan to lay up a mold on >> top >> of it all so there's a prospect for an after-market item. They'll >> mate >> up w/ the std. factory fairing just forward of the spar, and will be >> cut into three pieces, pretty much like the way you've handled it, >> w/ a >> portion attached to the wing, a portion to the flap, and a portion >> attached to the fuselage aft...the cuts allowing for transport on the >> normal (mono) trailer. >> >> I hope R.J. Mitchell would approve, >> >> Fred > > > >> From: "Justin Kennedy" >> Date: May 19, 2008 8:01:44 AM PDT >> To: "Fred Klein" >> Subject: RE: things Europa >> >> Fred, >> >> What a splendid sight your formers make. >> The boys at the Europa club want me to do glide angle tests to >> prove my >> wing root fairings make the difference. I have no problem with this >> but >> I think they are missing the point. The real gain is the wall of drag >> you hit at high speed. I can descend at only 250fpm and maintain VNE >> 165kts at cruise power. OK I have a variable speed prop and it >> would not >> be possible without that too but most other Europas hit a wall of >> drag >> around 150 kts. >> This makes possible my favourite bit which is cruising at 6000 ft and >> then making a controlled descent to the circuit at 1000 ft. That's >> 5000 >> ft to lose at 250 fpm which is 16 minutes. 16 mins at 160 kts is 42 >> miles. So from 42 miles out you commence the descent and you are >> really >> going. Given a tailwind of 20 kts it gets really exciting as you >> will be >> covering the ground at 180kts from 64 miles out (that's 207 miles an >> hour!). You are going to love those wingroots. They not only look >> gorgeous they will make a real difference. >> >> Hang in there >> Kind Regards >> Justin >> > EUROPA ENHANCED WING ROOT FAIRING FLIGHT TESTS > > BACKGROUND: > > In Sept. ‘08, I brought a sample of an enhanced wing root fairing to > the Rough River Europa Fly In. It was designed to allow for > installation during construction or easy retrofit to flying XSs, and > is compatible with the necessary clearances for transport on the > standard trailer. Information about it and photos can be viewed at: > > http://www.matronics.com/photoshare/fklein@orcasonline.com.07.21.2008/ > > Since that time, I’ve developed a companion molding for the > underside, and secondary moldings for the voids which open when > flaps are deployed. I’ve completed the installation on my aircraft > which is still under construction. > > After posting the photos which show a much cleaner fuselage / wing > intersection, a number of builders have enquired about and wondered > what effect, if any, the fairings have on performance of the Europa. > Up until now, I could not answer that question. > > However, I have shipped a set of upper and lower fairings to Jeff > Behrnes who is presently flying his XS trigear w/ 912S and Airmaster > prop, “Baby Blue”. Jeff, through his business, is an expert on > exotic tapes and adhesives, and he had proposed that he could > temporarily mount the fairings on his aircraft and do a series of > flight tests, then remove the fairings and fly the same profiles > without the fairings in order to determine whether or not, and to > what degree, the fairings affected flight characteristics. Those > tests have now been completed. > > SUMMARY: > > In accordance with Jeff’s data taken from the limited flight test > profiles described below, I am pleased to report the following > performance benefits we’ve seen from the addition of the enhanced > wing root fairings on the Europa XS: > > During Timed, Low Power-on Glide, L/D is increased by between 11% > and 14.3%, > During Moderate Power Descents @ 300 fpm, speed is increased by 1.5%, > At Economy Cruise, Level Flight, speed is increased by between 2.1% > and 3.7% > During Climb at 75 knots, climb rate is increased by 3.75% > > The test data following was noted from on-board digital > instrumentation, Jeff’s normal flight instruments. This rudimentary > outline should make it clear that I am NOT a flight test engineer, > nor an engineer of any kind, and I make no such pretensions...nor > were these flight tests intended to an exhaustive or comprehensive > program...no tests were performed with flaps deployed...nor was I > either present at or a participant in these test flights. > > Fred Klein > CONFIGURATION OF TEST AIRCRAFT AND CONDITIONS: > > Weight of a/c during flight tests: 1250 lb > Europa XS trigear, N55SX, 912S w/ Airmaster prop > Configuration: flaps retracted throughout testing > Data collection instrumentation: Dynon D10A, Garmin 396, Airmaster > controller > Test Pilot: Jeff Behrnes > > Outside temp, on field 88 degrees F, Relative Humidity 74%, Sky clear > Conditions remained constant throughout the 2 hour period when all > tests were made. > > All tests were repeated twice; i.e., all tests were done 3 times; > pilot reports that numbers were “fairly consistent” on all three runs. > > Four types of flight tests were performed: > > Timed, Low Power-on Glides @ various speeds, > Moderate Power Descents @ 300 fpm, > Economy Cruise, Level Flight @ various power settings, and > Climb @ 75 kts > > > > TIMED, LOW POWER-ON GLIDE, TESTS 1, 2, and 3: > > In stable air @ 3500 ft., engine at 3400 rpm, prop full course, time > duration: 60 seconds; clock started after IAS established: > > Indicated Alt. Loss L/ > D Alt. > Loss L/ > D % Gain > Airspeed: w/o > fairings > w/ fairings > > 65kts IAS - 100 ft 65.78: > 1 - 90 ft 73.08: > 1 11% > 70kts IAS - 100 ft 70.84: > 1 - 90 ft 78.71: > 1 11.1% > 75kts IAS - 80 ft 94.87: > 1 - 70 ft 108.4: > 1 14.3% > > > > MODERATE POWER DESCENTS @ 300 fpm, TEST 4: > > 6500ft, 23.5 hg MP, engine at 4800 rpm, 300 fpm descent, maintain > rpm @ 4800; read IAS after descent established > > Speed > > Speed > > % Gain > w/o > fairings > w/ fairings > > 127 kts > IAS 129 > kts IAS > 1.5 % > > ECONOMY CRUISE, LEVEL FLIGHT @ VARIOUS PROP SETTINGS, TEST 5, 6, & 7: > > Stable air at 6500 ft, adjust prop to hold engine at 5000 rpm > > Nominal > Manifold Airspeed > Airspeed % Gain: > Power Set’g Pressure w/o fairings w/ fairings > > 65% 20.5 hg 93 kts > IAS 95 kts IAS 2.1 % > 70% 21.2 hg 100 kts > IAS 103 kts IAS 3.0 % > 75% 22.3 hg 106 kts > IAS 110 kts IAS 3.7 % > > > > CLIMB @ 75 KNOTS, TEST 8: > > Stable air at 2500 ft, level flight, engine @ 5600 rpm, manifold > pressure @ 26.3hg, read rate of climb when climb established at 75 kts > > Rate of Climb Rate pf > Climb % Gain > w/o fairings w/ fairings > > 800 fpm 830 > fpm 3.75 % > > > POST SCRIPT > > All in all, the data speaks for itself...I was a tad disappointed w/ > the results for Test 4 which replicates one of Justin Kennedy's > favorite flight profiles. In that configuration, Justin pushes 150 > kts and Justin attributes his fairings (similar but not identical) > to delaying the onset of the "wall of drag" which the typical Europa > hits at about 130 kts. Justin's aircraft (Classic Mono, 912S, > Airmaster) is an exceptionally clean example of the breed. We've > speculated that enhancing the fuselage-wing root intersection alone > is simply not enough to alter that drag threshold on a trigear. > > Frans Veldman has installed these fairings on PH-DIY; photos posted > at: > www.privatepilots.nl/europa/building.htm > Frans took a novel approach when determining the joint between which > portions of the fairing are attached to wing and fuselage; it also > allows for future use of the motorglider wings. > > FK