bushpilot

Hello Bushpilot, the 170 in my photo has the long nose. Regards, Bob

The handling issues mentioned above have been addressed in the latest J170 design. If you didnt see it at Temora - here is a pic: http://www.centralwestflying.com/newsart.php?k=36 (click on the photo to enlarge - and, yes, I know there are a couple of typos in the text..). I test-flew this particular 170 and liked it.

Ours will be delivered in about 4 weeks time. It will get a real work-out as we do more than 100 hours training and private hire a month in our J160 and J230. The 170 will do a lot of the ab-initio work, so I will report on our in-service experience over time..

Just checked the web page link; very nice, Bas; simple design and functional. Will the side-grips accommodate a protective (silicon-type) cover on the iPad?

Hi Ian.. In time you could still consider an Apple iPad platform as well; a basic wi-fi-only iPad can be tethered to iPhone 4 to access GPS. There are many more apps available for the Apple platform than any other.

Well we have been told that the Editor is reading all our comments in this Thread - which is a good sign. (Why wouldn't he; feedback in this detail would cost heaps using typical product acceptance research methods - and here it is, all laid out..) But I would suggest, to give encouragement to those of us who bothered to offer commentary, that the Editor post his summary of which of the ideas and suggestions here he will take on-board and incorporate in future editions..

It's "our" magazine after all, so I'm sure we all want to see it at its best - and see it sell well on the newsstands, to assist in growing our segment of aviation.

Dexter of Destiny Flyer fame fitted LED strobes recently, he put up a post about them.If I was getting a new Jabiru I would be asking for an alternative engine to the Jab one; except you know what the answer will be. I would not trust a Jab engine under any circumstances for anything except local flying and there is no way I would fly into a remote area with one, their failure rate is shameful. I had an associate with a brand new J230 and the engine failed and had to be rebuilt at 100 hours and he still had to pay a substantial amount and that is only one example of many similar failures.

Maybe you could ask for an extended warranty on the engine ... good luck.

 

David

And, yes, I do know there are also plenty of examples of issues out there, but the number of Jabs in service is very large - much larger than any other Rec aircraft - which in turn means more reports of problems in absolute terms.

Exceptional! The filming, editing, captioning and effects; all top class. What video camera do you use?

Maybe another angle for this Forum, Ian: "The 2012 Best Amateur Aviation Video competition." - and each year thereafter. Voted on my members and a prize each year donated by commercial supporters of the Forum. (I'm in for a prize donation).

The handling issues mentioned above have been addressed in the latest J170 design. If you didnt see it at Temora - here is a pic: http://www.centralwestflying.com/newsart.php?k=36 (click on the photo to enlarge - and, yes, I know there are a couple of typos in the text..). I test-flew this particular 170 and liked it.

Ours will be delivered in about 4 weeks time. It will get a real work-out as we do more than 100 hours training and private hire a month in our J160 and J230. The 170 will do a lot of the ab-initio work, so I will report on our in-service experience over time..

And from the same 'library', this not-so-new gem:

I had the great pleasure of flying to Bundy last weekend to meet with Andrew (JabSP6) and discuss some of the many mod he has carried out on his SP6. What an eye opening experience.Some but not all the mods include:

Balance the bottom end

 

Piston and gudgeon as well

 

Nikasil Bores and better quality (chrome) rings.

 

·Ceramic coating on the top of the piston and Teflon coating on the piston side skirts.

 

Fine Finned Heads fitted

 

·This includes different length rockers and different size rocker covers

 

·Fitted K Liner inserts in the valve guides

 

·Stainless Steel 1 piece valves fitted with matching spring retainers and collets.

 

·Ceramic coating in the exhaust port and on the complete combustion chamber

 

·Ported and polished heads to even out flow between all 6 heads

 

Replaced the engine Through Bolts

 

Extractor exhaust system that eliminates gaskets.

 

·Separate header per cylinder with a bevelled flange.

 

·3 into 1 collector with a 2 inch pipe.

 

·1 ¼ inch balance pipe

 

·1 ½ inch perforated stainless pipe wrapped in exhaust packing inserted up the 2 inch pipe as a muffler.

 

Increased air flow to the heads

 

·Increased the inlet size of the top engine cover

 

·Have a larger air duct over the cylinders and heads so that only 4 fins are not covered

 

Ignition System

 

·Iridium spark plugs fitted to give improved spark which has improved cold start

 

Carby

 

·Polished the throat of the carby

 

Inlet Manifold

 

·Removed the aerofoil shaped deflector and replaced with 12mm round bar ( only minor improvement).

 

·Fitted fibreglass cross in the air box outlet with slight improvement

 

3 blade Patroney Prop and Cummins Spinner

 

·Adjusted to 15 degrees to give 2800 rpm on ground run up and 3300 straight and level flat out

 

The best part was we went for a test flight to enable me to compare my jabs performance, on start up the smooth running is most evident (a sewing machine comes to mind), after warm up we taxied out and took off. Rolling and climb at 2800rpm with a climb rate of 1200 to 1300 fpm, 80/90 kts all the way to 4500 ft. Andrews CHT were in the range of 130 degs. C. all the way to top of climb and reduce 5/10 degs again in cruise. Now that's impressive to someone who does staggered climbs, for the past 5 years, to keep CHT in check.

 

Andrews mechanical knowledge with regards to his aircraft is truly impressive and his workmanship the same.

 

As he said in an email -

 

"hope we can get the motor to the point where we are completely confident to jump in it and know it will perform the way it should for 1000 hours or more."

 

Thanks for your time and sharing your knowledge Andrew, invaluable stuff.

Back on topic pleeeeease...

Whoops - I meant to also ask: Our charges are all inclusive of GST.. Do most schools build GST into their rates?

(Thanks for all the replies to date! There is a fair spread of rates out there..)

My views:

I understand the need to use a more commercial approach to packaging and presenting the magazine to assist increase circulation, however -

The masthead ('Sportpilot' - I dont have a problem with the name) looks cheap and in particular the prop pic is a bit corny /cartoony looking. I think they should run a competition inviting entries to improve the look.

The adverts. are very cluttered and uninviting to look at - especially those crammed together filling a page.

The photos in the Classifieds are a joke; cut down so much that with some of the a/c all you can see are the wings. Potential buyers need a good visual to go with the description.

Also, communication between the RAAus office and the magazine is off to a bad start. I asked RAAus 6 weeks ago to put a 'sold' banner on my a/c classified - and it is still there as 'for sale'.

I will be passing these views on to the editor.

Must haves = Transponder, strobe, landing light - they all make you more visible in different situations. Also built-in GPS - basic Garmin models are OK.

Nice to have = EFIS

Any other non-approved add-ons or mods - check with Jabiru first re certification..

With fuel costs going up I'm interested to know what the various RAAus schools are charging for dual instruction and aircraft hire. Would appreciate it if Forumers could share what they pay (as students or hirers) or charge (as school operators).

(BTW: All our current charges are on our website www.centralwestflying.com but are under review)

Thanks.

We have 2 J230s in our school - doing circuit work, navs and private hire. One has done 440 hours in 18 months and the other 405 hours in just 9 months. We have had no problems with either - altho one has been slow to start when temps got under 5C. But mechanically - no issues at all. I would like to see Jabiru do something about the brakes; they require constant adjustment. Bottom line: A great a/c for the money - roomy inside, fast, low consumption, good looks.

I spoke to Jab Engine Shop about them today. Bottom line: They cannot be used legally in a certified Jab. So of no use to schools.

I have fitted ventilated disc rotors 6mm thick to my J160 and now can stop very, very short with no brake fade, just have to be careful not to lock up the wheels on the black stuff.Adrian

We do block training and operate 7 days a week (most weeks). We are located in Bathurst and housed in the premises of the Bathurst Aero Club, but with dedicated rooms.

About 30% of our current students travel from Sydney to fly with us. Many of these have come to us on referral - which is always the best form of promotion...

We have 3 Jabirus - shortly to be 4, and 2 instructors - shortly to be 4. In a few weeks time we will be adding GA training in a Cessna 172.

Check us out at www.centralwestflying.com

Have only done 14 hours flying since fitting iridium plugs and the same result; there does seem to be an efficiency increase. However, I had forgotten that I had the wheel spats put back on the plane at the same service as the change to iridium plugs. This may explain or contribute to the changes observed.Alan

Ross (Maj) on this siteI know Ross - he is a friend but on this site his comments are not helpful - he is so far left or whatever one likes to call it that the threads can be changed from helplful to basic bias - he is so biased to Rotax that I believe his comments should be put in General not in Jabiru specific forum. Rotax promotion and Jab bashing does nothing for the Jariru specific site where those of us that own Jabs [or me particularly] are not interrested in Rotax promotion - but I have not done any Rotax bashing - nor will I. If one wants to promote Rotax [or some other engine or aircraft] - great - but put it in some other forum - not in the Jabiru specific forum , I for one, am not interrested in some private agenda....

 

Frank

 

 

Some may think that being defensive about a particular brand/type relates directly to what the defender owns; indeed this is a natural reaction. But as Frank says, such bias (for or against) is not necessarily helpful.

In my case we have just ordered our 4th Jabiru. We gain nothing from doing so other than some fleet efficiency. But if we did see obvious commercial advantage in going another way - buying another type of a/c, then we would. In fact each time that we get to the point of needing an additional a/c we do re-visit the options. We got close to ordering a Cessna Skycatcher recently, but decided that there are too few of them out there at this stage for them to have any in-service history. We also looked at some of the Euro brands, but in talking with owners became concerned about the availability of parts.

In a school environment we need all of our a/c servicable for 99% of the flying days - save for regular servicing; and Jabiru gives us this operational capacity..

Whilst not related to this thread, there is also the issue of 'eye appeal', particularly from the point of view of newbies to aviation or recreational aviation; Jabiru's basic design/s meets the expectations of what a 'normal' a/c should look like - and makes the 'looker' more likely to sign on..

Wow, that would be cool! Do you guys clear the engine periodically?

We ridge-soar our Jabirus off Mount Ovens, near Bathurst, when the wind is blowing from the West.. We have done this many times in the past in hang-gliders and the technique is basically that same: Fly close to, above and parallel to the ridge, but always in front of it (upwind side), then when get to the end of the ridge do a 180 turn away from the ridge and back parellel again. A Jab will hold height in 15kts wind and will gain height over 15 kts - at idle. Good fun and skill honing.. One of the benefits of the weight limit in our category.. Come to Bathurst and try it sometime.

The best warranty you can have is the one you never have to claim on. The three year warranty on my car hasd just run out and I had zero claims. The way it should be.

G

Jabiru are scrupulously honouring their rebuilt engine warranty. I'm more than satisfied with this outcome.

Can you elaborate on what they did for you? I'm sure a few owners have been following your story here...

Looks a bit like a cut-down Airvan to me....