bushpilot

And J170 has MTOW 600kgs, against 540kgs for J160. Climbs heaps better - especially in hot weather - glides better on approach, but, yes, takes longer to settle with the big wing. School at Mudgee has J170 in lieu J160 and CFI says he much prefers the 170. J160 is still excellent for general use - Ive had mine for 3 years - and is cheaper to buy.

Just posted a classified for my 2008 Jabiru J160. Looking to move it out of the hangar in March, so priced accordingly. A bargain for anyone looking for an excellent condition Jab. See advert. at: http://www.recreationalflying.com/classifieds/aircraft-recreational-1/bargain-j160-499/ Come to Bathurst and test fly it, or arrangements can be made for interstate buyers.

With CoPilot, can anyone advise if it has good coverage for flying in OZ??

OzRunways is great! Thanks for the tip - and just found the related thread.. With NAIPS does anyone recommend the Rowan Wilson version or Ben Trengrove's?

Hi Rowan, Looks great thanks... On the initial registration page it may help to have some words advising what to do after entering a user ID.. It allows a download of ERSA etc but doesnt say your user ID has been sent / saved. Maybe just a button "submit" would do it.. Just a thought as a first time user..

This may well have been discussed b4, but has anyone a view on the best of the iphone, pad, laptop apps for aviation- Like Co-Pilot, Flightplan, etc.??

Follow up Does anyone know if this has been discussed at Board level as yet? Without doubt it is the one part of NavEx training that most students struggle with; and so unnecessary given that as soon as they have passed the tests many are going to be using any available PLM website or PLM software, as they dont intend to get licenced for higher levels of aviation.

Outage? Hey Ian - We are having problems with loading Area21 today... Maybe all this rain has got into the system!

Training requirements not enough Slackness like this impacts the reputations of all of us... Training requirements are necessary for sure - but you cant MAKE people get adequate training.. Especially difficult is with these older and cheaper, easily acquired a/c. Maybe a tough regulation on selling a/c could work. Like only sell to those with a licence. It works with guns selling - to a degree - and our machines are as deadly as any gun - for the user at least. Sure people would cheat the system - but it puts another layer in that they would have to deliberately breach, so making it a bit more difficult for them to 'suicide'.

The Piper Colt was the first a/c I (co)owned - as a young lad back in '75. I agree - it was a dream. Did my PPL on it and the only thing you didnt get practice with was use of flaps! (It has none...). There are a number of issues with training in LPs; for a busy school one of the reasons is the limited number of days that they can be flown - meaning lots of lesson cancellations. I know - I did my PPL to RAA conversion in one - and every second lesson was postphoned.. We can train on a HP on pretty well any day that a Cessna can be safely flown..

Hmmm - Seems BR and Dazza are on to something.. Will try some longer bolts as starters... Also, a spare Jab rim wheel would be handy to have - but they retail for about $300 each! Txs. Chris

Wondering if anyone has worked out an easy way to press the 2 halves of Jab wheels together when re-assembling after tyre change / repair.. Especially when mounting 10-ply tyres. The through bolts wont reach unless the 2 halves are compressed. Cant use longer bolts as not enough clearance... Cant use a normal car tyre press, as then cant reach the bolt / nut to do up... Any ideas??

oh, and our 2, 2200 engines have done 493hours and 370hours.. Only needed spark plugs, filters and replacement oil..

We do same as Tomo suggests - but in our cold clime we leave choke out for couple of minutes on the 2200 engines. The 3300s only need choke for few seconds. Also, if you every experience difficulty with Winter starts, try gapping the plugs down to 20thou.

We have 2 J230s - one has done 270 hours.. It shows same power as when new and leakdowns are perfect.. Uses about 30ml oil and hour - which is normal.. The second one is only 6 weeks old - has done 53 hours in the hands of students, and no engine issues have emerged.

This doesnt help Pete, but I'm also looking for one rim: A used Jabiru (160 / 230), as a spare, if anyone has one for sale..

I also support the swapping types / makes / models approach. Broadens the experience base and adds a bit of interest.. (Suggested that theory to the missus once; didnt go over well...) We usually do our basic training in J160, then for navexes we swap all students to one of our J230s. Even though they are all Jabirus, the characteristics are quite different. Also, when students are no longer students and want to private hire to go away for a day or more, they are likely to go for the J230; the hire rate per NM is actually less than the J160 and they get there earlier! Also, for those moving on to GA, the J230 is closer in handling to the heavier GA a/c.

Our 3300 Jabs are much more prone to icing than our 2200s. Not sure why, but other owners report that as well.

We have our 3 aircraft insured with QBE. They are always reasonable in their premium quotes and give no claim discounts. One of our RAA friends here in Bathurst took out a cover note with QBE on buying a new a/c recently; he crash landed on the ferry flight and even though he hadnt paid the premium at that stage, QBE paid the $35,000 claim quickly and without question.

Correct - it was a 2-Stroke Rotax. But everything is pro-rata; a 2-stroke on an LP a/c gets used (by me at least) a lot less than 4-stroke in a HP a/c. My 2-stroke issue was at 115 hours TT. Our Jab motors have done a heap of hours. There will always be arguable factors; I'm just saying that reality based experience tends to stick in terms of an individual's perspective. But, before you say it, collective statistics over time are the ultimate test. Cheers.

Faith is faith, but reality is just that. My experience over several years is 1 a/c with a Rotax and 3 with Jab. motors. The only in flight engine failure Ive ever had was a Rotax.. Small sample I know - but reality bites.

Bathurst Aero Club charges $25 per week. Bathurst Council charges about $1500 per year for hanger sites.. Several new hangers have been built in the past 2 years. Proximity to Sydney and costs at Bankstown and Camden are pushing pilots over the mountain. We have a few hanger owners here now who live in Sydney or Blue Mountains.

Ever seen a fog form? Generally they build up from dawn and then burn off once the sun is high enough.. Here is this morning's fog in Bathurst from our flying school webcam. Earliest time is in the bottom right corner - and later, the top left, shows the fog at its peak...

Our colleagues over at the FTF at Orange - "Orange Flight Centre" - have put more than 4,000 hours on Jab. motors and have never done anything more major than the maintenance books prescribe. The CFI there - Ken Pidcock - is an L2 and does all his own servicing. He does oil and filters and tappets at 50 hours and the 100 hourlys by the book. He pays special attention to backing off, lubricating with anti-seize and re-torquing the head retaining bolts every 100 hours. Jabiru have inspected 2 of his engines at around 1000 hours and said that they were in such good order they could have gone straight back together. I think durability is a combination of usage (circuits are better for a motor than long flights at constant revs) and proper maintenance.

Last Friday, whilst working with a student on a flight from Cobar to Dubbo, we experienced carby icing in our J230 4 times in one hour - all whilst flying straight and level.. First sign was a noticeable drop in revs, then rough running. So best advice is to try carby heat with any of these symptoms, especially if all engine gauges look normal...