2.2 jabiru engine on Thrusters

[Robert]

Hi All

 

Just wondering if there are any 2.2 jaby engines fitted to Thrusters

 

If so how many and if not can this be done legally ?????

 

Cheers All

 

 

[Guest TOSGcentral]

Hi Robert,

 

Which Thruster?

 

I have been through this before on this forum but it will do no harm to go there again.

 

There are J2200s on Thrusters - they are certified for the UK T600, and in consequence were fitted to the Oz Vision 600 Thruster.

 

However, the J2200 engine is not yet certifited for any of the 95.25 Thrusters (and would be a massive overkill on any single seater) so if you fit one the aircraft would be illegal and you could be very liable in a number of different ways.

 

Yes they can be made legal. I was trying to do it and had it all set up - but the Jabribu factory pulled.

 

It is in fact a quite simple exercise (in that it has already been done on the T600, but note that the T600 is classed as virtually a different machine), but doing an engine certification would be an expensive exercise and you would need to be working closely with a CAR35 engineer plus someone capable of doing the required test flying.

 

Aye

 

Tony

 

 

[Robert]

Thruster Experimental

 

Hi All

 

Thanks for the info on fitting a Jaby 2.2 to Thruster.

 

There must be a way to do this !!!!!!!

 

If I built a modified aircraft out of a couple of wrecked thrusters and fitted a Jaby engine could I reg it as an experimental???????

 

Cheers all

 

 

[Thruster87]

Hi Robert, Have a read of the following RAA post first http://www.auf.asn.au/operations/regulations.html#9555_12 as it should shed some light on your dilemma Cheers T87

 

 

[Guest TOSGcentral]

Your best bet Robert would be talk through your project with Chris Keihn, the RAAus Tech Manager. He is a very helpful guy and will give you a lot of practical advice rather than just you can/cannot do this or that.

 

The Amateur Built categories are primarily dictated by the Building Proportion rule - ie how much of the construction and fabrication did you do yourself.

 

That can be a bit awkward on Thrusters as they are simple aircraft to start with so you are not really "building" much, you are assembling parts for what is a factory built aircraft. So it becomes a moot point whether you are actually building a new aircraft (which is what it would have to be seen as) or you are re-building a factory built aircraft.

 

You can take a total twisted, rotting wreck and if you put it back substantially to its original condition (despite having a different engine on it) it will be classed as a re-build (and quite rightly so).

 

It can be done and I have done it twice with ex T300s - but these were so extensively modified/redesigned/changed that (although they still looked like Thrusters more or less - or at least the ancestry was evident) they were totally different aircraft.

 

To give you an idea - one of these was the Bilby. Rusty Jenkins spent over 500 hours building that machine which is about four times as long as it took the factory to build the original T300 that it came from.

 

I think it also productive for readers of this to take on board a "big picture of freedoms" that we have - and we still have some considerable freedoms left to us via the various amateur built categories.

 

This is not a case of officious obstruction or trying to make life difficult. RAAus, as the body doing the registration etc) have to ensure that precedents are not set that get a door ajar that is then steadily levered open further.

 

Just re-building a Thruster so you can put a different engine on it and naming it something else is not going to be acceptable. The line has to be drawn somewhere and it has been so drawn - therefore have a chat with Chris.

 

On the other hand putting a J2200 on would be a very worthwhile exercise - particularly as the complicated bit (a certified engine mount) can be bought ready built from the UK Thruster factory and there are already thousands of hours of J2200 flying on Thrusters already logged.

 

Having a reliable four stroke for the 95.25 Thrusters would be a good move and the J2200 does go very well in them. Why not have a chat with Daffyd Llewellyn of Southdown Aero Services, Clifton, QLD. He is a CAR35 engineer and does a huge amount of work for the ultralight industry.

 

Daffyd would give you a run-down on how much the certification would cost and what would be involved. Bear in mind that once this was done you would have title to the Engineering Order that resulted (a sort of copyright) so could charge others for use of the Order and off-set your initial outlay in that manner.

 

Aye

 

Tony

 

 

[Thruster Bob]

Hi Robert ,

 

You're not alone out there,

 

Many of us have aging 582 engines and scared off by the replacement cost, and as pointed out elsewhere the $/hr for a 582 with a 300hr TBO is not very competitive.

 

Ask around, you might find partners interested in the T500/J2200 certification.

 

Count me in.

 

Cheers, BobT

 

 

[asmart]

Hi Robert,

 

I would be interested to gain more information about forming a partnership to gain T300/J2200 certification. Please keep us informed.

 

Regards

 

Andrew