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My brothers 2200 Jab engine has just had a top end overhaul after 1200 hours without any problems this is not a school plane but only used by him. Cheers Helmut.

I fly from Wellington and have been a forum member for over 3 years.( too lazy to find out exact time). We only have 5 active flying members the aircraft are VP1A- Harry, Supercat - Chris, high performance German motor glider-Danny, R44 chopper - Bryan, Jabiru SP6 which is mine. Cheers Helmut.

You are right Brent, but you also need to wed the tapered tops to the exhaust manifold. If you were to get it it done you would need to have another exhaust manifold already made up or it becomes a long job. To cut the tapers into the heads is relatively easy and can be done with the engine installed. The person with the jig and cutters is Wayne Johns. Cheers Helmut.

"Diesel's are good for what they are designed for Low reving high torque applications," I thaught that was one of the main design criteria of a good aircraft engine Cheers Helmut.

Martin, a thermocouple reads the voltage produced between two dissimilar metals which changes with temperature. This is not linear and the gauge is calibrated accordingly. The J type thermocouple used for the CHT is iron constantine and will read with relative accuracy to 750 degC( well above the expected temp) The point where it will read is where the two wires are joined and the quality of this joint will have a bearing on its accuracy. The problem with the Jab system is the thermocouple wires are crimped to copper wires leading back to the gauge. This creates a cold junction and the temperature of this junction has a bearing on the temp read by the gauge. when I built my first Jab in 1996 I did a lot of testing on this particular gauge and found out that the gauge reads accurate temps if this junction is at 50 deg C. IF the junction is colder the the gauge reads high, if the junction is hotter it reads low and a error of 20 deg is possible. Do not take the error as always being 20 deg high it will vary with temperature. Expensive gauges are calibrated for a cold junction and usually run thermocouple wire up to the gauge. My conclusion was that the jab gauge was calibrated to expect a cold junction temp of 50deg C so I located it in a hot part of the engine bay. Hope that helps clear it up a bit. Cheers Helmut.

I fly a SP500 6 cyl fitted with the 3 blade carbon fibre prop and am also very pleased with the performance and durability . I have only done 55hours weith this prop but all I have to do is clean it. With the wooden props I had before I would have to fix stone chips every 25 hours and if I flew in rain I would have to repair the leading edge. I am helping my brother build a lightning to which we have also fitted the evolution carbon fibre prop. Cheers Helmut.

Thanks for taking the time to film your trip, very enjoyable. Cheers Helmut.:thumb_up:

Ozzie, there is a part finished one for sale in the for sale section of this month RAAus mag. The price is $18000.00 including the engine reads like a good buy. Cheers Helmut.

Every one is entitled to their opinion. But I would have thought 400hours at 5600rpm at maximum power is harder than running at 70% power. I also am not aware of an V6 engines running balance shafts. I know of many in line 4 cylinder in line engines engines that use the counter rotating shaft system to balance the engine. The Supermarine Spitfire now use the ISUSU 3.0L V6(made by Honda) and the Titan Mustang use the Suzuky 2.7L V6 I am sure both these will be super reliable and will exceed 1000hours before overhaul is required. Cheers Helmut.

David, I worked for Mitsubishi Motors Australia,I have/had friends in the engine development GM Holden and Toyota and know their testing is as severe. You need to know your product is reliable when you give 10years or 160,000km warrenty on the drivetrain. Brett. The Toyota motor is a sure money bet.I have it from a good source that the 100HP Rotax have had major block problems with a number havin to be replace at 600hours. Cheers Helmut

I have read with interest the speculation of aero engines verses automotive engines over many different threads and feel that the reliability issue needs to be cleared up. In my previous life I was involved in the development and testing of engines for a major vehicle manufacturer for thirty years, managing the engine development area prior to my retirement in 2003. The test regime on an engine is very severe with even a minor change to a piston ring for example requiring a number of 400hour wide open throttle (WOT) throttle test at maximum power(not 70%) to be conducted. These would run non stop except for regular oil change intervals. At the end of this test the engine would be torn down and inspected. Some engines would be rebuilt and run another 400 WOT test if required. We would also conduct hot and cold cycle tests where the oil temp was elevated to 150+ deg C and coolant at 120+ deg C (under pressure) at WOT for 25 mins. The engine was then shut down all the coolant dumped. Cold coolant filled and started brought up to max temp at WOT for another 25 mins. This would be repeated for 500 cycles or more depending on what we were testing for. The engine dynos were all computer controlled and calibrated regularly. I have spoken to Rod Stiff a number of times on engine testing and he assures me that there is no aircraft engine manufacturer that conducts tests that are this severe or even come close, except for jet engines. I have no doubt in my mind that automotive engine is far more efficient, reliable, economical and better built than most existing aircraft engines. Cheers Helmut

Thanks Lithbattboss, I am currentley helping my brother build a lightning and will want a battery in a few months. We will definately be buying one. Cheers Helmut.

What are the dimensions of the battery suggested for the jabiru 3300 engine application? What is the predicted price ? Cheers Helmut.

Aeroshell 15w50 summer and winter including during engine run in. My brothers 2200 has just completed 1075hours and is just starting to use a bit of oil. My 3300 is on 250lhours and going strong. Cheers Helmut

Galpin, I am currently helping my brother build a lightning, and 2 of my freinds are also building Lightnings. all 3 will have EFI which will be based on my Jab system but modified for the Lightning. Cheers Helmut

I have a EFI Jabiru 6cyl with 240hours and have never had a starting problem hot cold etc or icing problem. My mates EFI Jabiru 6cyl with 230+ hours has also never had a starting or icing problem. Cheers Helmut.

Just a thought, but why after purchasing a J120 could you change the registration to a 19 experimental ? Or is the there is a RA Aus/CASA ruling that stops it .I know of many early Jabiru owners/builders who built under the 101 28 catagory and then changed over to the 19 experimental. It would probably depreciate the resale but that could also be debatable. Cheers Helmut.

Well done, one exceptional looking pleasure machine. I am certain pleasure = looks which means you wil get a imense amount of pleasure out of flying this aircraft. After the hard work it will be well deserved . Happy cloud chasing. Cheers Helmut.

Sean. if you just want the basic slip gauge non electric I have 2 lying in my shed which I will never use. One fits in a insrument size round hole in the dash. The other is a straight long bar as fitted to the early Jabs. IF you pay for the postage I will send you one of them . The choice is yours. Cheers Helmut.

George, what a brilliant article thanks for sharing it with this forum. cheers Helmut.

Great aircraft from my Reno trip. [ATTACH]3539.vB[/ATTACH] Mustang P51 at rest. [ATTACH]3540.vB[/ATTACH] Trojan at the classic aircraft display [ATTACH]3541.vB[/ATTACH] Some excellent examples of Beech staggerwings.

Ian, you could try Dennis Borchardt of Lightning Aircraft Australia as he will have his demo aircraft flying by the proposed fly in date. Cheers helmut.

[ATTACH]3538.vB[/ATTACH] :laugh:Bigglesworth, here is a picture to compliment your signs. Cheers Helmut.

Mogas shelf life. I agree with the statement that its not a reliable fuel due to the reasons you described , but the shelf life of mogas is no different than avgas. When buying from a oil company site the chance of getting the wrong octane rating is very small but it could happen where with avgas it will be the correct octane. The main difference with mogas is that it gets blended every month to compensate for the predicted ambient temperature. The Fuel Volitility Index is increased as the temperature drops.THere are different fuel blends in all states due to the temperature variations. In a extreme case if you used mid winter fuel on a hot summers day you would experience vapour lock. Avgas is roughly the eqivalent of summer fuel therefore in winter it can be more difficult to start your engine. In my previous life before retirement I worked in the engine development and testing for a car manufacturer and we would conduct extreme temprature testing both hot and cold. We would use test fuel which was fuel we decanted from our main tanks certain times of the year depending on our volitility requirements then had it annalysed for confirmation. This fuel was then stored untill required, the time frame before we disposed of the fuel if we did not use it was 18month.This allowed a sefety margin and I think fuel that is 2 years old could still be used. Cheers Helmut