When I heard a few years back that the folks behind the Europa two-seat kitplane were in the process of making what amounted to a certified version, I was excited but, frankly, a bit skeptical too. The Europa, a popular kit made in the United Kingdom, is a terrific little kitplane, but I wondered if it might prove a bit too quirky for regulators’ tastes. The original featured such interesting oddities as a single main fuselage landing gear with outriggers, wings you could remove and stow for towing in about five minutes and impressive aerobatic capabilities. Surely, such features wouldn’t fly with the FAA.
As it turns out, the designers apparently agreed, and they introduced a certified version, the Liberty XL-2, which is quite conventional in comparison. It features tricycle landing gear and permanently fixed wings, thank goodness. Furthermore, the airplane will be certified in the normal category.
