Tasmag

Bex, What do you anticipate your design will be built for?

Yenn, not really any further progressed. I still like the J430 for the ease of construction and simplicity. The idea of a low wing SP4000 appealed for the engine more than the airframe, although the carrying capacity is a bonus. I want an aircraft that can do long distances with a fair bit of gear, hence the 4 seat bias. I suspect I will end up with what I originally planned, a J430 with a jab engine.

No aircraft is ever cheap but where can you get a slippery highish performance aircraft like the RV9 for much less that 100K with all the fruit. Even a Jabiru 430 will cost about 100k once you put in a second radio and Transponder.

Jabo-who, That is what I had originally planned, build the airframe and wait for the engine. I like the idea of the Rotax, one downside is that they don't really like Avgas though. I am just being lazy wanting Avgas, it is very handy to pull up at a pump and fill up on airport.

It is interesting that an experimental RA build can fly in CTR, a friend was advised that he could not fly into C or D with his home-built Jab under RA reg, even though he had a full PPL. I will ask if he had a reference for the restriction, or whether it was simply word of mouth.

There has been a few posts talking about the costs of Lycoming services etc. I am interested to know if there would be much difference between Rotax/Lycoming if you were doing all your own servicing and repairs (Excluding rebuilds). Would the initial cost savings of a Lyc be eaten up by the ongoing costs when compared to the Rotax. I have been assuming the actual fuel costs are about the same when you match performance between the engines. I am ready to be shot down but one would think that it is roughly the same amount of fuel per HP, although the Rotax may be a little more efficient based on the given figures. I have flown many hours in a Jab, a few as a pilot and many as a passenger, and am confident that the J430 airframe would do for the flying I want to do, which is multiday trips on the mainland and beyond, especially at 760 Kg MAUW. The SP4000 drew my attention for it's carrying capacity and the addition of a traditional aircraft engine at what appears to be similar running costs, to the Jab when powered back to match it's performance. I also calculate the Lightwing could probably be built for slightly less than the cost of the Jab. The only real concern is the ongoing cost of the Lyc, especially if something goes wrong with the Lyc. I should also add that a 914 in the Jab would tick a lot of boxes, but would add at least 20k to the build price.

Unfortunately you cant fly a home built RA registered aircraft into CTR, but the same aircraft with VH reg can. Go figure. A friend had this issue and had to convert to VH after registering with RA.

Skippydiesel, yes I should have mentioned I was always planning GA, need it to fly out of CTR here in Launceston and the extra carrying capacity.

Firstly, thanks everyone for their responses and input. The Rotax in a J430 is a good option in most regards, except the price. The quote I have puts the engine at pretty close to $40 000, which has real potential to overcapitalise the airframe (IMO). The UL power and D motor, look like an option, but similar to the Rotax they seem pretty expensive. Yenn, I am interested in your experience with the O320, in particular what percentage of power are you pulling for 140Kts and 30Lph? I had thought an option was to look for a used O320 with 1000 or so left to run and then I can upgrade to an O360 if I ever wanted to. (What are the chances of picking up a used O320 for around $12000) Skippydiesel, The ATEC Zephyer looks to be only available as a two seater, I am looking at 4 seat options at the moment for the reasons below. The 4 seat requirement is mainly so that I can carry camping gear etc for longer trips, plus I'm not a small person and my flying partner is similarly built so most two seaters don't give us the range we would like when we add even basic gear. We have done a few long trips in a J170, but range hurts us for some areas, most recently Mitchell Plateau where we had to bail because we couldn't fill the tanks to capacity. The Cougar 2 does looks like a good option, thanks Ray. You can probably look forward to a few more emails picking your brain about it! Anyone have any input on running costs associated with the O320 in an experimental airframe given that I intend to do my own maintenance? I suppose that any spares required would generally be certified and therefore expensive.

Hi all I am currently trying to decide which craft to build early in the new year (Hopefully) I was previously set on a J430 for the carrying capacity and range but the closure of CAMIT and the introduction of a new 3300 next year had me looking around at alternatives. One that I found was the SP4000 from Lightwing, not many flying so difficult to get some real world performance figures. I have spoken to one builder from the forum but he has a much bigger engine than I would like. I am really after something economical to fly - 120Kt at 25lph is my yardstick at the moment. Had initially thought that an o320 (160hp) would be ok in the airframe, but maybe it needs a little more poke to get of the ground in a reasonable distance? The 0320 would probably use a little less than 35lph at 75%, but was thinking that at 55% it might still pull the SP4000 along at 120. The site list take off distance as 600m, but another source (Youtube) from ALW states that it needs 800m with 180hp. Anyone have any knowledge/thoughts of the airframe or any thoughts on it or engine choices. Mike

Bridport is anther option, would probably have to head to YMLT for fuel though. Some nice flying there and if you ring Bridport I suspect it would be substantially cheaper that YSTH (Who don't mind charging)

If you were considering a charity aligned to the aviationtheme you could look at Funflight. Haven't had anything directly to do with them but was recently told about it from a member of the Aero club.

Tellerto-Which company did you use for the transition to RPL at Caboolture.

What about one of three or so options. If a few manufacturers were approached they may come on board with a deal of the winners choice. Jab/Brumby/RV12 springs to mind as a good spread.

Just tried it on wifi and it is all fixed. Much appreciated.

Unfortunately still not working Ian

Hi there, Feel free to move this if it is in the wrong place. I joined the forum from home but for some reason can't login at all from any device on my home network. No problem with tablet on 3g. I am assuming that the forum has blocked me for some"suspicious"activity. Does anyone know how I can remedy the problem? Love the forum and am in the planning stages of building a jabiru 430, so would be much more convenient to use the pc. Mike

Sounds like a great idea, what about mapping options, even if it were an export to google earth.

Hi there Just joined from Tasmania. Currently training and hope to start a J430 build one day.