Its design aims were: high speed, low cost, able to be built and stored at home, easily transportable on a trailer, using Mogas fuel, able to be rigged for flight in under five minutes, carrying two people in comfort, and providing sufficient baggage for extended touring.

[6] In 1997 UK Prime Minister Tony Blair launched the Millennium Products competition to promote British industry in the 21st century.

One of these was the Europa XS, described as "A light aircraft which offers speed, economy and performance and can be stored on a trailer in your garage.

Eventually, a sophisticated TR7-derived fuel-injection system became available for the MidWest engine, but by this time Shaw's choice of a Rotax flat-four for the Europa was fixed.

(Shaw had earlier built a Rutan "Twin-EZ", a canard kitplane with twin Norton Wankel engines).

In practice, the monowheel Europa proved tricky in inexperienced hands and could be prone to prop-strikes and groundlooping (partly due to the lack of differential braking) so the company developed a tricycle undercarriage which has become the more popular version, particularly as any performance disadvantage has been slight.

[11] The Europa touring wing uses a unique Dykins 12% thickness/chord ratio airfoil designed by Don Dykins, who had been deputy Chief Aerodynamicist at Hawker Siddeley Aviation, and later technical director of British Aerospace and chief aerodynamicist on the European Airbus.

On 1 June 2007 a Europa Classic, registration G-HOFC, broke up during a flight over South Wales, United Kingdom, killing both occupants.

As a result of the initial findings, the Light Aircraft Association released two Airworthiness Bulletins requiring immediate and repetitive inspections:[26] The content of these Airworthiness Bulletins was made mandatory in the UK by the issue of Mandatory Permit Directives.

The final accident report concludes that these modifications and the mandated inspections of aircraft already completed, adequately address the construction issue.