The Jabiru.......your opinions please

[DELETED]

DELETED

[Whirly]

Speedbird59,

Let me be the one(as usual)to chip in my 2c worth!! I am going to take a look at the CAA website and will see what accidents the Jabiru was involved in.

As I said before,Len and Les bought my hanger in George and it is now the Jabiru factory.I have spoken to them at lenght and my neighbour at George airport actually got them to move the factory to George.He is a Jabiru owner(I think he now owns a 2 seater and 2 Four seaters!)and I watched him fly all the time.They now use them at flight schools all over(maybe that is why there are more accidents?).With an increase in numbers and use,it makes sense that there will be some accidents?

I did however hear a while back that they (the Jabiru factory) will be carrying their own insurance of some sort,for the buyers.This will be relatively cheap as they are cheap to fix!If they have implemented that yet,I don't know.

The engines seem to be widely used,by other makes as well,I think even the Bantams use them,they seem reliable.Another friend of mine in George also just bought a 4 seater and put his Hawk XP(that I sold him a few years ago)up for sale.

If any of you are ever in George,go visit them and you will see that it is all done very professionally!(and no Skybound,I am not getting any commission!!).

Whirlybird.
P.S.See,I can talk about other things than helicopters!!

[Chris]

Port St Francis - repair cost not as much as the owner had to pay the boat that towed him into port under salvage law.

[Whirly]

Chris,

Is that the amfib model??

I did have a look at some CAA accidents and saw a bunch of Jabiru accidents,most "seem" to be from misuse?I know my neigbour in George got one of the first 4 seaters and had to do a forced landing on the beach,just past PE.This was on the ferry flight to George,from the factory at Cato Ridge(I think?).He ran out of fuel with the one tank still showing lots of fuel! There was a pinched fuel line that caused it aparantly?

While looking at the CAA site,I saw plenty Robinson R22 accidents(quickly counted 10!),way more than any other type!!

Whirlybird.

[Darrell Lush]

I had the misfortune of witnessing a Robbie prang a few weeks ago. It was horrible. The pilot was doing auto rotation landings and his third one went wrong. (The Robbie practically whacks itself to pieces almost as if its alive.) The Robbie finally came to rest approximately 50 metres from point of impact. I was concerned for the pilot until I saw his head pop out with the wide eyed stare common to the victims of such events

[Whirly]

Darryl,

If you look at the CAA accident reports on the R22,they are mostly damaged during autorotations(hard landings). Is it because they are flown mostly by students or is it something else?

Is that why we are seeing more Jabiru accidents,because they can now be used for training?

Whirlybird.

[DELETED]

DELETED

[Whirly]

Just heard some interesting news(from an owner!)regarding the 4 seater Jabiru!Their engines are packing up,left right and centre! This is reflected on the CAA website,you will see,cause:engine failure!

This engine seems to work well on the Bantam B22J as it is not enclosed,but they pack up in the Jabiru!The range given for these aircraft(I think 720nm)is also said to be very,very optimistic!

I only relay what I was told and this is in no way my opinion or statements!

[Hotdog]

A friend owns an SP, and expereinced loss in power after take-off from Nelspruit a year ago. The problem, if I remember correctly was attributed to coils and/or sparkplugs, and after that the problem was resolved.

I was excited to read in the April issue of African Pilot that a local variant will be developed with traditional columns (stick or wheel I'm not sure), centre dash-mounted throttle and electrical flaps.

The CAA reports mostly indicate fuel mismanagement, but the one from FASK does look a bit fishy.

IMHO, I doubt that the increased use for training contributed to the frequency of incidents as reported by the CAA. It might be worthwhile for owners to install some fuel management equipment on this plane, but nothing can replace good fuel management techniques.

[Jan]

I am a Jabiru owner and has now put about 200 hrs on it. NO problems at all up to now and never had so much fun at such low flying costs!! It is a fact however that early jabiru 2200 engines did have some problems, specifically around cilinder #3 and valve failures as a result. The later engines are OK. There are a number of engines ( some of them in flying schools ) that have now reached a 1000 hours and heve had a top overall and put back in service.

[Whirly]

Jan,

Is your's the 2 seater or 4 seater?As I have heard there is no problem with the 2 seater,but with the 6 cylinder 4 seater!?

Whirlybird.

[Jan]

Hi Whirlybird, Mine is the 2 seater with the 2200, four cylinder engine.

[DELETED]

DELETED

[Steve]

Before buying my J400 (which I collected recently), I did extensive research into this aircraft. My research was triggered because a pilot friend wanted to buy the 4 seater and asked me what I thought of it, which led me to decide that it was such good value for money, I would buy one too.

The accident record regarding fatalities is excellent and considering that many 2 seaters are homebuilt as well as flown by MPL pilots (some I know who moved rapidly from weight shift to the 2 seater), the aircraft reputation certainly comes out with flying colours, all considering.

There are now 160 plus Jabiru's in South Africa and I believe that the factory has produced in excess of 3000 engines world wide to date. As most engineerinf types will know, engineering does follow an evolutionary process and many issues have been sorted out in later verisons regarding cooling, etc... Several of these aircraft are deployed daily in training schools, etc... which speaks volumes.

What has impressed me considerably though, is the actual flying performance in that the stall is almost benign with no wing drop and the aircraft tends to just mush with the stick fully back. This feature alone, I reckon has saved a few lives.

The airframe is extremely tough (I watched the Australian factory body and wing test videos) - quite impressive. If owner's treated them like we treat a C172 for example and send them to the AMO for the 100 hour inspection, etc...blow bye's and inspections will pick up any snags which can be remedied before they become a problem.

As far as handling wind is concened, it is rated for a 14kt demonstrated crosswind component. I flew mine in a 37kt wind taking off from FACF which had about an 8 kt cross wind component and experienced no problem. The small wing to speed ratio gives a very low bump to turbulance ratio...

Range....I can confirm the fuel burn of 19 litres per hour (FS450 fuel monitoring) and with a fuel capacity of 139 litres, gives a range without reserves of 7.3 hours cruising at 120kts = 877nm ....so the factory figure of a realistic 720nm is not exagerated.

My best recommendation...go and test fly one...it will completely change your paradigm about them.....The latest factory build quality and finishes are superb...

Getting one from the factory might take a while, though...the success of the 4 seater becoming so popular is reflected by the factory being absolutely full of aircraft being produced and I believe that the order book is full, so you might have to wait awhile.....below is a pic I took in the factory last Friday...and there will still 4 aircraft to my right....

[Boet]

What is that rag and tube thing hanging from the roof??