Liberty XL2
Encyclopedia
Liberty Aerospace
Liberty Aerospace is a manufacturer of general aviation aircraft based in Melbourne, Florida.The company produces one model, the Liberty XL2, an advanced two-seat touring aircraft based on the British-designed Europa homebuilt airplane...
of Melbourne, Florida
Melbourne, Florida
Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. As of 2009, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 78,323. The municipal area is the second largest by size and by population in the county. Melbourne is a principal city of the Palm Bay – Melbourne – Titusville, Florida...
for the personal transportation, touring and flight training roles.
Development
The XL2 is a derivative of the Europa amateur-built kit touring airplane and motor-glider. It was type certifiedType certificate
A Type Certificate, is awarded by aviation regulating bodies to aerospace manufacturers after it has been established that the particular design of a civil aircraft, engine, or propeller has fulfilled the regulating bodies' current prevailing airworthiness requirements for the safe conduct of...
in 2004 under FAR
Federal Aviation Regulations
The Federal Aviation Regulations, or FARs, are rules prescribed by the Federal Aviation Administration governing all aviation activities in the United States. The FARs are part of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations...
Part 23 for VFR
Visual flight rules
Visual flight rules are a set of regulations which allow a pilot to operate an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better than basic VFR weather minimums, as specified in the rules of the...
and IFR flight.
Compared to the Europa XS, the fuselage is slightly wider and larger to accommodate bigger American pilots, and also taller with a bigger windscreen. The wing is metal instead of composite and the aircraft is equipped with a Teledyne Continental Motors FADEC
FADEC
Full Authority Digital Engine Control is a system consisting of a digital computer, called an electronic engine controller or engine control unit , and its related accessories that control all aspects of aircraft engine performance...
-controlled engine mounted on a metal spaceframe instead of the Europa's Rotax 912 engine mounted on the fibreglass fuselage
Fuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
. The landing gear is also of a different design.
Design
The Liberty was designed by Ivan Shaw, who also created the Europa. The aircraft has a composite fuselage and aluminum wings. The engine is a fuel injected FADECFADEC
Full Authority Digital Engine Control is a system consisting of a digital computer, called an electronic engine controller or engine control unit , and its related accessories that control all aspects of aircraft engine performance...
(Full Authority Digital Engine Control) equipped Continental IOF-240–B
Continental O-240
-Bibliography:*Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...
driving an MT composite propeller.
The landing gear is of tricycle configuration and all three sprung gear legs are made from 4130 chromolly steel. The nose wheel is free-castering. On early versions the nose wheel steering was by differential braking via two finger-controlled brake handles mounted on the centre console. On later versions more conventional toe brakes were been installed.
The wing features large fowler flaps pivoting on three scissor hinges per wing, with a maximum 30-degree deflection. The flaps are electrically powered and are controlled by a switch to the right of the radio stack. The flap indicator is a three-light system which shows when the flaps are at zero, twenty and thirty degrees. The flaps can be selected in between those settings but require visual confirmation of flap position.
The wing is rectangular with a 7:1 aspect ratio, no taper and no washout
Washout (aviation)
Washout refers to a feature of wing design to deliberately reduce the lift distribution across the span of the wing of an aircraft. The wing is designed so that angle of incidence is higher at the wing roots and decreases across the span, becoming lowest at the wing tip...
. Small stall strips
Stall strips
A stall strip is a fixed aerodynamic device employed on fixed-wing aircraft to modify the airfoil used. They are usually factory-installed or, on rarer occasion, an after-market modification. Stall strips are almost always employed in pairs, symmetrically on both wings...
are installed a few feet out from the root to aid stall performance.
The airfoil is a unique design, which the XL2 shares with its predecessor the Europa. This is a Don Dykins airfoil, designated as a “Dykins 12%”, because the wing’s maximum thickness is 12% of the chord. The airfoil is a semi-symmetrical, laminar-flow design.
The fuel is housed in a single fuselage-mounted tank with filler on the left side. The tank holds 28 US gallons usable and is fed to the engine via a simple on-off fuel selector.
The tail features a rudder mounted with a piano hinge on the right side only. The elevator is a full flying stabilator and incorporates anti-servo tabs inboard on both sides to increase pitch stick forces. The controls are actuated by dual control sticks and conventional rudder pedals.
Cockpit access is via two “gull wing” doors. The seats are mounted in side-by-side configuration in a 48 inches (1,219.2 mm) cockpit. The seats are fixed in place with ergonomic adjustment achieved with seat cushions of different thicknesses and adjustable rudder pedals.
Standard avionics include a Garmin
Garmin
Garmin Ltd. , incorporated in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, is the parent company of a group of companies founded in 1989 by Gary Burrell and Min Kao , that develops consumer, aviation, and marine technologies for the Global Positioning System...
530 GPS-Comm, a 430 GPS-Comm and a GTX 327 transponder
Transponder
In telecommunication, the term transponder has the following meanings:...
, along with an intercom system and audio control panel. Engine instruments are all contained within a Vision MicroSystems VM-1000 panel.
The stall warning system is a voice annunciator that says “Stall, Stall”.
Under the right side of the instrument panel is a cannon DE-9 plug providing RS-232
RS-232
In telecommunications, RS-232 is the traditional name for a series of standards for serial binary single-ended data and control signals connecting between a DTE and a DCE . It is commonly used in computer serial ports...
which can be plugged into a laptop PC to download engine monitoring information. The software to run this is included on a CD-ROM which comes with the plane. This has been upgraded recently to an EDI card (engine Data Information). This card is a memory card much like in a digital camera, and records all engine data from 0 hours, until the 2000 hour TBO and can be read with a card reader to diagnose problems and observe flight characteristics in real time flight.
In July 2009 the company introduced a version of the XL2 equipped with a Wilksch Airmotive turbo diesel powerplant that burns Jet-A fuel aimed at the non-North American market. Liberty will assist Wilksch in certifying
Type certificate
A Type Certificate, is awarded by aviation regulating bodies to aerospace manufacturers after it has been established that the particular design of a civil aircraft, engine, or propeller has fulfilled the regulating bodies' current prevailing airworthiness requirements for the safe conduct of...
this engine.
In April 2011 the company announced that they had developed a 100 hp Rotax 912S powered version that runs on auto fuel aimed at Asian markets, due to lack of 100 octane avgas
Avgas
Avgas is an aviation fuel used to power piston-engine aircraft. Avgas is distinguished from mogas , which is the everyday gasoline used in cars and some non-commercial light aircraft...
fuel outside North America. The engine will be available as a factory option and also as a retrofit under a supplemental type certificate
Supplemental Type Certificate
A Supplemental Type Certificate is an FAA approved major modification or repair to an existing type certified aircraft, engine or propeller. As it adds to the existing type certificate, it is deemed 'supplemental'.-Purpose:...
and saves 150 lb (68 kg) in empty weight, due to the much lighter engine.