Kenlsa

I have just completed it and took about 10 minutes. I found it covered most of what interests me. There is plenty of space to comment if you want. Remember, if you don't vote/comment you can't complain at any future direction taken. Ken

In 11 years of operation in have had to return my 760 to Microair 3 times at $300 a pop. First problem was at 32 hours just joined the circuit at Narromine for the national meet and the radio went on the fritz..... Worked great after landing (of course). Radio returned of rev Q update and about 100 hours later....fritzed again. Returned and 'fixed' for about another 100 hrs, then smoked again. Returned and fixed....but after 5 hours a total failure. $1000 spent so far. The last few years I have had trouble talking to a human at the factory. Said that my radio would not be "supported" any more and I could have a new one at cost ($1200). I took up that option as I did not want to re do the new harness with another make. 5 months, yes 5 months, (said they had a contract in Sydney to fill first but did not elaborate) later my radio arrived. I had borrowed one from our level 4 for that period and it worked great, not a fault. Put in my new one and had trouble from day one. Bottom line is I now have 12 suppressors fitted, a capacitor (flux?) and a filter that our level 4 recommend in another post. Worked ok (90%) but when I flew over high tension wires from the power station I would get interference at anything less than 1500 AGL. Squelch is almost turned to maximum to keep most clutter out. Just recently replaced the headsets to a higher spec........now 99% fixed, yippee !!' Ken

Bruce, the weep hole is between the pump flange and the case. It is only for excess oil that makes its way up the pump push rod to allow drainage. In my motorcycles with cv carbs (bmw and yam) I have only had one diaphragm failure in 40 years. It would idle but not have any power on one cylinder, but when I changed it and then the good one to make sure, it pretty well disintigrated in my hand as I removed it. Very easy to inspect but you will probably damage it when you do. Ken

Bruce, my case has a small hole,1/16th inch perhaps, to allow excess oil to drain out if too much makes its way past the shaft on the mechanical pump. You must be careful when applying sealant (518 from memory) not to cover it up. Ken

Hi Kev, you didn't quite edit it properly as the fat fingers hit "92" instead of "82" . Ken

Why don't you go and do the factory course and use your engine as the instructional piece? I attended a couple of years ago and we used another student's engine (over 1500 hours solid lifter) it was updated to latest specs with cost of parts only. The owner was very happy with the result. We learnt a lot as well. Ken

I had just left the Australian army at this time ( March 92) where I was with 16 Air Defence Regiment;we had the Rapier missile system as well as Stinger. It was a delicate little petal and we wondered how it would actually perform in battle. All reports, confirmed by the above post, I received said it was a waist of time carting it all that way. Australia fired off the last of the missiles a few years ago to quit the stock. No rapier missile has ever downed an A/C in anger, anywhere. Let's hope our Rbs 70 system is up to the task, of that I have no idea. Ken

AZNA, Try to get your hands on our magazine from June 09. Gives a breakup of 50, 75 and 100 hours for a SP jab; Same as the J120. I don't have an electronic copy of it I'm afraid. You can update the figures in the columns to get a good idea of current cost. BTW, you may fly 100 hrs in the first year but the RAAus tell is that we average about 20 hrs a year. Ken

Scott, did mine on iPad and it was a nightmare (during the trial period) as I couldn't toggle between the references that were given/supplied. I had a read of the info and sat the exam. Still passed but had to work from my memory and knowledge. Do it on a desk top with Windows. It should be far easier than an iPad unless they have fixed it. I sent a letter to the editor and supplied feedback as to my problems. I am a firm believer in on the job training or hands on courses- so I did the jab course last year to complete my learning ( to Level 1) to my satisfaction and I suggest that all should do a hands on course for their particular aircraft if available . I recon that you attend a Rotax course to expand your knowledge as it would be money well spent. Ken

Oscar, what you have said is close to what I did. Seems most of the problem isn't delamination of the cloth on cloth but the oil in the timber causing separation of the timber from the first layer of cloth. If the delam is close to the hub the easier it is to fix. But if close to the tip, it's off to the manufacturer to fix. I have done 2 props, one at 150mm and the other at less than 300mm from centre, certainly in the first third where prop speeds are lower. Ken

Bruce, I will be at my hangar tomorrow and have all the gear to fix it. I did mine 200 hours ago and all is still good with the repair. Ken

Been off line all morning

Hi all, been a member for about 8 years but has been about as long since my last post so best start again! I built my SP 500 2.2 about 9 years ago with the 15 th to last solid lifter motor that hasn't given me any complaints so far, fingers crossed. I retired about the same time my Jab lost $15k in value due to the CASA intervention. I was in the public service, so know how these things work.... I am not holding my breath... So to be proactive in this issue I will be attending the factory to participate in the 3 day engine maintenance course in July and see which way I will be going with any motor replacement. Our club has a number of Jabs that seem to be flying quite well so far. Ken 19-4690