Evektor Eurostar EV-97

Do you let your heart or your head rule when it comes to deciding on an aircraft? If it’s your heart (and perhaps the seat of your pants), the Eurostar is the front runner. It looks terrific, its bubble canopy and low-wing design give brilliant visibility and, most importantly, it feels like a bigger aeroplane.

The aircraft on test was the personal machine of Chris Theakston, the man who builds Eurostars for Cosmik Aviation, the UK distributor. You’ll never find a more enthusiastic promoter of the aircraft than Chris, and his Eurostar is beautifully finished.

Takeoff from Rochester Airport’s slightly soggy grass was impressive considering both pilots on board weighed 12-13 stone each (around 165kg in total). We scampered down runway 34 in a 10kt north-westerly wind and were airborne well before the first intersection, then climbing at around 800ft/min. We had no trouble in catching up and staying with the Cessna 172 cameraship ahead as we flew east towards the Isle of Sheppey for photos.

The Eurostar is the only aircraft here to have two control sticks, one for each pilot, with a panel-mounted central throttle knob, a much nicer arrangement than a central shared stick. The stick forces are very light, needing just a couple of fingers to operate, and it’s conveniently around knee height so you can rest your hand on your thigh.

The trim is a rather naff lever squashed in between the seats and I didn’t really get the hang of it. Chris had and he trimmed the aircraft straight and level where it felt rock steady.

Despite this stability, the Eurostar is the sportiest performer here when it comes to turns. Like a good sports car, it turns in with with gusto if you push the stick over, needing just a touch of rudder to balance. The great view out is a real boon too, especially in steep turns, and it performed these with ease.

This manoeuvrability gives the Eurostar a feeling of precision – you can place it exactly where you want – and, impressively, it backs this up with the ability to fl y in a relaxed manner. That’s partly down to the aircraft’s cockpit which is wide with plenty of leg and headroom. Bubble canopies can get hot in the sun, but there are highly effective air vents.

None of these aircraft have seats worthy of grand tourers, but the Eurostar’s sports car-like laid-back seats are the best here – supportive and with a fraction more padding. It also has plenty of room behind the seats for charts, guides and a lightweight bag, though the Eurostar has the least useful load here.

The Eurostar has great visibility all round

We cruised back to Rochester with 100mph showing on the air speed indicator, the cruise speed Cosmik recommends. The 80hp Rotax 912 up front is burning around 11 litres of fuel an hour at this speed. The fuel burn drops to around 14lt/hr when the speed is pushed up to the max of 120mph which comes surprisingly easy. Confusingly, the factory quotes the max level speed as 121kt – 139mph. Perhaps they meant mph. Back in the circuit the aircraft needed no slowing down until turning final. Chris demonstrated a helicopter approach, staying high until almost at the threshold then putting in a dramatic sideslip, straightening out, applying full flap, for 55mph over the hedge, touchdown on the numbers, and then having to taxi along the runway under power to the first exit. This is an aeroplane you’d feel very confident operating on short strips!

It’s fitted with the latest mod for 2006, a new top and bottom engine cowling which he freely admits is a cosmetic change rather than functional. It does look good too, with a ‘power bump’ running lengthwise along the top. Chris’s Eurostar is also fitted with a three-blade Kiev prop, a £200 option. It’s wood with brass inserts on the leading edges and has a double benefit being slightly quieter and also delivering better cruise performance.

Cowling easily removed to check engine

1.Fuel tap 2. Air Speed Indicator 3. Garmin 196 GPS (non-standard) 4. Attitude Indicator (an optional extra) 5. Rudder pedals 6. Vertical Speed Indicator with Altimeter above 7. Engine instruments 8. Throttle 9. Windscreen demister (a mod) 10. Ignition and master switches 11. Icom radio

Specifications:
Evektor Eurostar EV-97
Performance:

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