DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Mate of mine built a mono wheel a few years ago from the 'kit'
Flies really well and lands fine
It will be a lot of fun going strut to strut!

No idea what any of you are talking about but that looks a pretty plane


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The Europa is a Self Build plane built of composite materials and with a variety of engines.
It is attractive in that it has a side-by-side pilot/passenger configuration with good luggage capacity so you can get far afield as you like.
To build one is no joke and demands considerable time and skills; the materials can be very toxic too!

They can be had in mono wheel for take-of etc with that wheel under the pilot's bum almost with a tail wheel added. That front wheel is rubber sprung.
Each wing has small wheels on slender legs to keep the plane level at static/low speeds.

Alternatively, there is the more expensive tricycle undercarriage shown.

Around the UK are a series of small smooth grass landing centres, small airfields, some great some basic, but these are called Struts and it is great flying from strut to strut.

What impressed me is the speed you get to places flying something like the Europa. The way the plane gets buffeted about can take a bit of getting used to but on a clear day flying takes some beating. I think we flew at about 6,000 feet.

Going to try a gliding evening next week with Region 9 of PCGB! silent flight will be a revelation I hope.

How much do they go for (kit or finished second hand ones)?


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No idea to be honest, but the 'kit' was expensive at the time he built his and the rotax engine was a bit steep too.
He took 2 years off work to build it!
The materials were quite toxic and now the same materials 'raw' to him starts a nasty rash across his hands and eye lids...

Designed by a '747' type pilot I believe.

Building aeroplanes is not difficult, but it's thousands of hours of work. If your time is free, you end up with aircraft that has better performance costs a fraction of something built in a factory. It's also as safe as a factory-built aircraft as long as you have some understanding the engineering behind the design, and build it to plan as the designer intended. I have two friends who have built RV7s, one of them also rebuilt a Great Lakes biplane. All lovely.

My Europa was built by a BA flight engineer. It's 16 years old and is a bit ratty, but everything still works. It's had some upgrades like increased payload modification to the wing spar box, double-length baggage area and a variable-pitch propeller. It started life as a monowheel, and was converted to tri-gear when the previous owner's wife decided she wanted to learn to fly it. I am a die-hard taildragger fan and never wanted a boring tri-gear aeroplane, but I fancied a Europa and the mono wheel option is just not good.

My only plans for it are a tidy-up the the instrument panel, which is a bit of a mess, having been chopped and changed over the aircraft's life.

Price-wise, this one cost me around the same price as a very nice 912, or an average 911T. Unfinished kits are anything from £4k to £30k, depending on whether an engine is present, what engine it is, what instruments are fitted etc. It's a good aeroplane for the money; cruises at 125-135mph, returning about 50mpg, with a range of 500nm. If it were a car, I'd compare it to a BMW 320d Touring - so good at what it does that you ignore that it's a bit average.

jamie wrote:
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4149/4974 ... e9d2_o.jpg

This may delay work on the 912 somewhat. Oops.

They still look scary to me

Would love to fly, not sure I'm sensible enough.

964RS wrote:Would love to fly, not sure I'm sensible enough.

I don't think this ever stopped anyone.

You just have to accept the concequences of screwing up. Everything else you can be as unsensible as you like. You can draw parallels with motorsport, riding motorcycles or doing anything that involves any sort of specialist machinery.

I will say though, most pilots do tend to be really boring people. But the ones that are good value are very good value.

Right, enough of this aeroplane chat.

Next question: I was so determined to have the car repainted in its original colour of Sand Beige. It is with a heavy heart that I report that the colour that looked so good under the vast California sky just looks crap outside my house. We live in the shade of some very tall trees - lots of foliage, dark red tiles, wood colours and textures everywhere. That the car looks right on the driveway is of pretty high importance to me, the house being around the same age, and me being a shallow aestheticist and all that.

So what about something from the same palette, but with a bit of punch... Bahama Yellow?

jamie wrote:what about something from the same palette, but with a bit of punch... Bahama Yellow?

Yep, much better. And brighter.

Anyone got a '68 colour swatch?
What other period correct colours are there?

If your still around Camberley Jamie, my painter boys can do the colour change for you.

Hi Mike. Thanks for this. I'm still miles off this point at the moment - car needs strippin', blastin' and lots of inert-gas lovin' first.

I have a painter, but would like to speak to your guys too. Altamura perchance?

Paul - colour options for 1966 (I think the same as 1968):



I like Ivory, Slate and Aga, but I expect they will also suffer under the dark light of the tall tree canopy in the same way Sand Beige does. My favourite is Bahama Yellow - seems very period, tones well with the house...

Bahama Yellow, black or Irish green would be my preferences from above period colours.

All would have a good contrast against the chrome (which is good for our overcast days here in the UK)

slightly concerned your considering painting your car to contrast with the surroundings
of the front of your house, what happens when you move.........