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Europa Aircraft will be closed from from Thursday, 2nd April 2020 to Tuesday, 14th April 2020 for our annual spring break. Orders will not be processed during this time, so please order any spares and parts you may need well in advance of the closure period.
If you have any technical queries during this time, please email technical@europa-aircraft.co.uk in the usual way. It’s with great sadness that we share the news of Nigel Graham’s passing. Nigel was an experienced pilot and builder; an integral member of the Europa community who shared his knowledge and passion positively and generously with the Swift group over the last decade. Nigel was a true gentleman, always cheerful and bubbly with an infectious smile. His passing at such a young age is a tragedy felt by many and everyone at Europa Aircraft is deeply saddened. We would like to offer our sincere condolences to Nigel’s family, friends and colleagues. Nigel, you will be missed, fly high.  Europa Aircraft will be closed from noon on Friday 20th December 2019 until Thursday 2nd January 2020. The last day for posting small orders prior to this break will be Wednesday 18th December 2019. If you have any urgent queries during the closure period, please email technical@europa-aircraft.co.uk and we’ll endeavor to do all we can to answer, but please note that the team will have limited access to emails during this time. Festive Wishes Once again we would like to thank you for your continued support this year and look forward to another fantastic year in 2020. From everyone at Europa Aircraft and Swift Technology Group, we would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.  As you are aware, Europa moved from Wombleton to Norwich in April this year, and as a result the telephone number changed to 01603 542525.
The old telephone number has been redirected for the last six months, however now that the transition is complete, and the new details have been circulated to all, this is no longer active. With immediate effect, please use the new telephone number for all enquiries. The new contact details can be here. Europa owners Tony Wickens and Alasdair Milne visited us at our new facility this week. It was great to see you both and wonderful to hear such positive feedback. Europa Aircraft is now based in Hangar 2 Scottow Enterprise Park (formerly RAF Coltishall). This amazing facility boasting 60,000 sq ft of production space with attached offices is also home to the Swift Aircraft, AMEL and Swift TG Solutions.  Yesterday was hailed a great day for the Swift Group, and indeed the aviation industry in Norfolk, as North Norfolk District Council granted approval for our proposals to re-open the runway at Scottow Enterprise Park (formerly RAF Coltishall).
This decision means that Coltishall will make aviation history once more as we take to the skies from the runway later in the year; a critical step toward to achieve our aviation goals. When we applied for permission to open the runway, we held a planning open day, and received support from the local residents, many of whom had fought tirelessly for the runway to be saved. The fact that this asset still remains in situ is testament to them, and they are thrilled that this will be used for the purpose it was built. As Scottow Enterprise Park is split between two authorities, both Councils must approve our proposals. Permission remains pending with Broadland District Council, however, with a unanimous vote from North Norfolk, we hope that support will be forthcoming in the very near future. Everyone at Swift is thrilled with the news, and we look forward to moving forward with flight plans in the coming months. Despite the last hurdles, we remain confident that Norfolk will become a centre for aviation, technology and innovation with the Swift group at the heart of this. EDP Article Radio Norfolk - Matthew Gudgin interviews David Stanbridge Swift Technology Group is proud to sponsor a team of students from UTCN in the Greenpower Education Trust Race. The team will take part in the Norfolk Lotus heat at Hethel Race Track on 8th June 2019.
AMEL, Swifts’ manufacturing arm, has provided hardware for the car – the UTCN team worked closely with members of AMEL to design a number of glass fibre and carbon fibre parts for their race car. TWF Solutions, the marketing and design company within the group, has also liaised with the team and supplied car decals. Swift Technology Group is a keen advocate of STEM and several staff members are STEM Ambassadors. Helping to create engineers of the future is currently a main focus for the group, and with the need for a strong engineering workforce in the near future, facilitating these local students with careers in the sector, is a very real prospect. Swift Technology Group is a technology-focused group of companies working within STEM industries, providing ground-breaking innovative solutions predominately in Aviation, Renewables and Oil & Gas. The company has invested millions of pounds into Research and Development over the last decade and will soon see its two flagship products launched commercially. The group is based at Scottow Enterprise Park and will be increasing the workforce to over 100 in the next few years. Due to this expansion, the company is looking to the college as a potential supplier of local skilled engineers. UTCN is a technical college based in Norwich for 14 to 19 year olds. It provides practical skills-based learning and real-world experiences, backed up with a strong academic grounding. Its goal is simple: to provide students with the qualifications they need to go to university or take up skilled employment. With a focus on engineering, science and maths, it aims to help fill the skills-gap in these sectors. Entering into initiatives such as the Green Power Race is testament to this as it allows the students to show off their STEM and creative skills in a practical environment. Swift is working closely with the college on a number of initiatives and look forward to strengthening the relationship even further in the coming months. Green Power Education trust offers a unique challenge: to design, build and race an electric car. Teams of students aged between 9 and 25 from all over the world compete in events across the globe, with the final taking place at the UK’s Rockingham Motor Speedway. The goals of Swift are strongly aligned with UTCN and Greenpower; to inspire young people into STEM industries, unlock their potential and kick start lifelong careers. It’s therefore been a pleasure to work alongside these STEM advocates for this project. On a final note, everyone at Swift would like to wish the UTCN team good luck this weekend, it’s been a pleasure to meet you all and be part of this exciting project. We will provide an update next week and hope to report a win! Swift Technology Group is proud to sponsor a team of students from UTCN in the Greenpower Education Trust Race. The team will take part in the Norfolk Lotus heat at Hethel Race Track on 8th June 2019.
AMEL, Swifts’ manufacturing arm, has provided hardware for the car – the UTCN team worked closely with members of AMEL to design a number of glass fibre and carbon fibre parts for their race car. TWF Solutions, the marketing and design company within the group, has also liaised with the team and supplied car decals. Swift Technology Group is a keen advocate of STEM and several staff members are STEM Ambassadors. Helping to create engineers of the future is currently a main focus for the group, and with the need for a strong engineering workforce in the near future, facilitating these local students with careers in the sector, is a very real prospect. Swift Technology Group is a technology-focused group of companies working within STEM industries, providing ground-breaking innovative solutions predominately in Aviation, Renewables and Oil & Gas. The company has invested millions of pounds into Research and Development over the last decade and will soon see its two flagship products launched commercially. The group is based at Scottow Enterprise Park and will be increasing the workforce to over 100 in the next few years. Due to this expansion, the company is looking to the college as a potential supplier of local skilled engineers. UTCN is a technical college based in Norwich for 14 to 19 year olds. It provides practical skills-based learning and real-world experiences, backed up with a strong academic grounding. Its goal is simple: to provide students with the qualifications they need to go to university or take up skilled employment. With a focus on engineering, science and maths, it aims to help fill the skills-gap in these sectors. Entering into initiatives such as the Green Power Race is testament to this as it allows the students to show off their STEM and creative skills in a practical environment. Swift is working closely with the college on a number of initiatives and look forward to strengthening the relationship even further in the coming months. Green Power Education trust offers a unique challenge: to design, build and race an electric car. Teams of students aged between 9 and 25 from all over the world compete in events across the globe, with the final taking place at the UK’s Rockingham Motor Speedway. The goals of Swift are strongly aligned with UTCN and Greenpower; to inspire young people into STEM industries, unlock their potential and kick start lifelong careers. It’s therefore been a pleasure to work alongside these STEM advocates for this project. On a final note, everyone at Swift would like to wish the UTCN team good luck this weekend, it’s been a pleasure to meet you all and be part of this exciting project. We will provide an update next week and hope to report a win! Swift TG Attending UTCN Employer Led EventSwift Technology Group will be exhibiting at University Technical College Norfolk Employer-led event. The event will take place on 4th April 2019, from 4pm - 7pm. We hope you can come along and find out about what we have to offer. Click here for more information, and to order your tickets.  Europa Aircraft Head Office is moving to Scottow Enterprise Park in Norwich (formerly RAF Coltishall). The manufacturing arm of the company, AMEL, moved to the site in 2018 and this change will bring the entirety of the business under one roof once again. Please make note of the new postal address and telephone number. All email contacts remain unchanged as will the Europa team - Karen Pool, Europa Manager, is also relocating to facilitate this move.
Swift Technology Group Head Office is already based at Coltishall and it has become the hub for all our aviation activity, so it makes perfect sense for Europa to join the party. Hangar 2 was refurbished last year and has already led to substantial enough growth for us to expand into Hangar 3, with the refurbishment of this space close to completion. Planning permission is pending to open the runway, and more aviation activity will be forthcoming over the next few months – watch this space for more details. Helping to revive the British aviation industry has been a key goal of the company from the outset and being able to do this from a site with such historical aviation value is incredible. The transition of Europa is another key part of the continued growth of the Group, and we look forward to the prosperity the move will bring. There will be disruption to the usual Spares and Parts services over the next few weeks so we ask you to please bear with us during this time. We will do everything we can to prevent downtime, however, this will be an inevitable short-term downside. Please send any urgent queries to info@europa-aircraft.co.uk and we'll do everything we can to facilitate your request as quickly as we can. Please note that this will not affect technical support, which will be dealt with as usual by the Swift Aircraft Technical team. We’ll let you know as soon as usual business resumes, but in the meantime, we hope that you will share our excitement and look towards a positive future. Visit Swift AircraftSwift Aircraft is opening its doors to some special guests, find out more about this initiative, and details of how to apply on the Swift Aircraft website.
Please note that the Builder's Manual page has been updated. CBM 29T Landing Gear has been updated with a slight revision to the nosewheel bungee instructions.
All Europa customers can view this document in the dedicated Support Area - please login or register. If you require further information, please email technical@europa-aircraft.co.uk.  Europa Aircraft is celebrating its silver jubilee, 25 years after the flight of the first production aircraft. The company has launched a range of 25 Anniversary limited edition merchandise to mark the occasion, with promises of more Europa 25 initiatives throughout the year.
Europa Aircraft is one of the only light aircraft manufacturers in the UK today selling kits, parts, accessories and modifications to customers around the world, together with providing technical support for its current fleet. Boasting over a thousand kit plane sales worldwide with hundreds of completed aircraft flying in six continents, it’s no surprise that Europa Aircraft is cited as the UK's most successful kit plane company, and one of the most acclaimed kit plane companies in the world. The Europa, described as a ‘plane for all pilots’, is still one of the most popular kit planes available, due to the superlative performance of the finished aircraft. It has a very enthusiastic, loyal and supportive team behind it and a huge following, including the Europa Club, which has hundreds of members throughout the world. There have been many highs and lows over the last 25 years, but Europa’s story is a great one, with an amazing heritage and a positive future. The underlying mission, objectives and philosophies of Europa will never change, but Europa will continue to use innovation, new technology and feedback to ensure the Europa remains the number one composite kit plane of choice for self-build enthusiasts and pilots. The story of Europa Aircraft began in the 1990s; born from a dream to build a small aeroplane capable of quiet, comfortable, high speed, low cost touring. The basic concept was to produce an aircraft that made real flying affordable and possible. The original model, the Europa Classic, achieved all of its objectives. It was easily capable of being rigged and de-rigged by a crew of two, road transportable for home storage on a purpose-built trailer, able to use short, unprepared grass runways with STOL performance, economical to operate, fast, cost-effective, simple to construct, and easy to maintain and environmentally friendly. The Europa Classic sold in hundreds, making a firm impression on the kit plane industry, and in 1993, the first Europa built by a home constructor was airborne. It was exhibited outside the Department of Trade and Industry who had invested money into the fledgeling Europa Aircraft company. The Europa Classic was by now a strong contender in the self-build arena, however, it was the launch of the Europa XS that gained the company massive acclaim worldwide. The Europa XS was available in two versions – the Europa XS Monowheel and the Europa XS Trigear. It had pre-formed hollow wings, more streamlined cowling, extended tailwheel, enlarged baggage bay and a better-balanced spinner. These developments meant that the new Europa aeroplane still fulfilled the original objectives, but now offered extra speed, extra range, extra baggage space and extra comfort. It was also designed to reduce the build time and maximise the pleasure of the build process – developments that were welcomed by builders and pilots. The Europa XS was named one of the UK's Millennium Products. These products were chosen following a nationwide initiative run by the Design Council to identify and promote products and services demonstrating British business innovation. When Prime Minister Tony Blair unveiled the products in London, he said “The Millennium Products chosen today show the range of creativity and innovation in this country. These are world-beating designs that will help improve the quality of our lives in the next century” The Europa gained fame in the 15-part TV series, A Plane is Born, presented by Mark Evans and also made an appearance on the popular Children's TV show, Blue Peter gaining itself a prized Blue Peter badge in the process! Soon after, Europa launched the Europa Motor Glider for those pilots who like to fly with their engines switched off – most impressively, the glider wings can be interchanged with the wings on the Europa XS Monowheel and Trigear, providing even more choice for the Europa customer. Unfortunately, by 2004, it looked like the dream was over – changes in ownership and management together with changes in the industry, had caused turmoil within the company and it was on the brink of closure. However, in 2008 Swift Technology Group, a company dedicated to the revival of the UK's aviation industry saved the day and acquired the company and its manufacturing arm, AMEL. The Swift Technology Group takeover caused excitement in the industry as it developed plans for further enhancements to existing design, modifications to the existing Europa XS for the LSA market, development of a brand-new plane and finalisation of Motorglider testing. Europa Aircraft HQ is now based at Wombleton Airfield, with AMEL based at Scottow Enterprise Park (formerly RAF Coltishall) – both of these locations have undergone renovation and refurbishment as part of the Group’s dedication to restoring aviation heritage in the UK. Europa will be making some exciting announcements in the next few months, so let the celebrations commence! |
