Rotax engines do fail but I DO remember correctly that it was not apples versus apples in the comparison because the Rotax engine statistics also included two-stroke engines which as you know are far less reliable in operation and endurance. This artificially made Rotax engine is worse than they are (the 4 stroke series). Anyway, natural selection will eventually prove who is correct in the long-term. It is really a shame because I would like to see an Australian product succeed but when they claim there are no problems and never have been any fatal accidents because of the Jabiru engine it becomes very difficult to believe.
I just had a look at the Jabiru australia website and this 'sample' is typical of many of the advertisements of used aircraft for sale. Sure, there are some there that have the same airframe hours as engine hours but they are usually under 500 hours operation.
This J160 is in top condition for its age – 2006 Factory Built Total of 1460 airframe hours and 470 engine hours
2097 airframe hrs, 742 engine hrs on engine since full rebuild
Engine No. 22J725 Engine Hours 156 Airframe Hours 1872.1
Total airframe hrs 733, Engine hrs 482
2003 Level 2 built, 612hrs, top end overhaul @ 500hrs
Total airframe hours 1010, New factory engine fitted by Jabiru in 2014 139 engine hours
why are so many people passionate about an underperforming product when it comes to endurance and reliability ?
I think it is just human nature, we all like to think we are pretty smart people and make informed decisions. Nobody likes to look stupid in front of others when it comes to their own actions or experiences and I think this goes in line with a lot of Jabiru engine owners. They know that if they wanted to buy the Rolls-Royce of engines and they should probably go for a Rotax but for other reasons unknown, they could be on a budget, it could be the engine supplied by the manufacturer they have to choose what is an engine of lesser reliability. Because they made this decision they need to defend their actions and get quite defensive when people point out otherwise. It is a little bit like which football team is better or which car manufacturer is better, there are good and bad in everything but the point I am saying is that there is no way a comparison can be made between Jabiru engine and the Rotax engine for reliability. Sure, the Jabiru engine is cheaper, and that could be acceptable to some people for having reduced reliability. Let's say you only fly 50 hours every year and it looks like you are going to get 10 years worth of flying before you have a problem based on what I see on the different forums so for many people this could be enough time for them to enjoy flying later in life and that is sufficient for their requirements.
Nobody is ever going to win this argument because there are so many opinions (mine included as an example) but it is not really fair to scream from the top of the hill that you own the best aircraft engine in the world when statistically you don't if you own a Jabiru