Marty Mason (Europa) · · PAGE 1.

Here is the first time I introduced you all to my old friend Marty Mason back on my PAGE 205.

January 8, 2006: Things happen fast when you own a fast airplane.  The RV-wannabe meeting did not happen on Saturday, but the oil was changed on Friday, January 6th.  When the pilot cancelled our Saturday meeting, I put the cowl back on the airplane and got it ready to fly.  My friend Monte needed some help that I could offer via my RV-9A.   With some shared expenses, and getting ahead of the coming weather front, I took off for South Florida again on Sunday with a return trip to the Atlanta area set for the next day, January 9th.  The trip south was not tight since the weather was perfect all the way to West Palm Beach.  I took some time this morning to stop off at Lawrenceville, Georgia to give another builder/pilot a ride in my airplane.  Marty Mason is a former Navy pilot who flew the P2-V when he was on active duty.  He is now retired and building a Europa which I have to get photographed soon for this web site.

September 26, 2007:  I finally got down to Marty's place with a digital camera to photograph his Europa kit status.  Let's start in his downstairs office with the rudder in hand.  Europa's are built from foam and fiberglass layers and other composites.

This edge-on view of the rudder shows the hinges and the internal control horn that gets a pushrod connected to it.   The hinges are on the starboard side of the rudder.

The fuselage bottom section and firewall are out in the garage.

Here is a closer look inside the lower fuselage shell.

The cabin seats and the main wheel well are awaiting installation in the lower fuselage half.  The aileron push-rod is visible in the main wing spar carry-through area behind the seat back.  Since the Europa has removable wings for trailering, the fuel tank is inside the fuselage behind the wing spar.

This is the side view showing the fuel tank and the aileron linkage.

The view from the front of the seating area reveals the wheel well in the center and the control stick mechanism on the co-pilot side.

This is the aft end of the fuselage where the stabilator and vertical stabilizer attach.  The elevator is a "full-flying" tail similar to a Piper Comanche.

The rudder pedals go into those recesses in the firewall.