Europa Aircraft is a British
kitplane
Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...
manufacturer that produces the
Europa XS.
The company was established to produce a small kit-built low-wing aircraft for personal use within Europe, with these design goals: high speed, low cost, able to be built and stored at home, easily transportable, using
Mogas fuel, able to be rigged for flight in under five minutes, carrying two people in comfort, providing sufficient baggage for extended touring. Apart from "low cost", these design parameters were largely met.
History
The original Europa, (the
"Classic"), was designed by Ivan Shaw (born 1945) and the prototype, G-YURO, first flew in February 1992. Production of kit components was established at the company's factory in
Kirkbymoorside
Kirkbymoorside () is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is north of York; midway between Pickering and Helmsley, and on the edge of the North York Moors National Park. The parish had a population of 3,040 in the 20 ...
, North Yorkshire.
In the early 1990s the company won a £100,000 grant from the UK
Department of Trade and Industry Department of Trade and Industry may refer to:
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* Department of Trade and Industry (Isle of Man)
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Former
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in recognition of its technical achievements. Europa Aircraft has grown to be one of the most successful British kit plane suppliers, with over 700 Europas flying in 33 countries. The
Europa XS was named as one of the UK's Millennium Products by the then Prime Minister
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
, and described by Pilot magazine as "the most significant light plane of the decade".
Ivan Shaw left Europa to develop the Europa-derivative
Liberty XL2 production aircraft at a new company,
Liberty Aerospace, in
Melbourne, Florida
Melbourne ( ) is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is located southeast of Orlando, Florida, Orlando along Florida's Space Coast, named because of the region's proximity to Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. The city ...
, United States. After Shaw left, the firm faced considerable difficulties; but in September 2008, company fortunes improved as Europa Aircraft was acquired by British company, Swift Technology Group.
Europa Aircraft has existed under several company names, and the current name is ''Europa Aircraft (2004) Ltd''. The manufacturing of the Europa range of aircraft is carried out by a sister company, Aviation and Marine Engineering Ltd. Other companies within the Group include
Swift Aircraft
Swift Aircraft Limited is a Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom, British aerospace manufacturer that designs the Swift II aerobatic training aircraft.
Swift II
The Swift II is a side-by-side, two-seat Training aircraft, training and aer ...
, Swift TG Maintenance, Swift TG Solutions and Aviation, Swift TG Energy and TWF Solutions.
In 2020, Europa Aircraft announced the launch of a new kit aircraft design, the
Europa Elite. The design will fit the into the
EASA CS-VLA category and will be of all composite construction, with two seats in
side-by-side configuration
Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...
.
References
External links
Europa AircraftAviation Marine and Engineering LtdSwift Technology Group
Aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom
Companies established in 1987
{{Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom