Someone commented recently on the forum that CASA (Australian FAA) has limited Jabiru-powered aircraft to day VFR. Most Jabiru powered planes are already used in that environment as trainers or light sport designs but for those who want to use their Jabiru-powered airplane as a normal airplane - tough luck if you live in Australia. CASA's new restrictions include no carrying of passengers, no solo students, and no flying over populous areas.
http://www.casa.gov.au/wcmswr/_assets/main/newrules/download/spc-cd1425ss .pdf "Seems like the major problems are still the through bolts (rolled vs cut threads), valve guides and crankcase fretting." (from pprune.org forum) Apparently rings & pistons & exhaust valves are frequent culprits with Jab engine failures. Paul Hanson with my local Chapter 14 finally sold his Wittman Tailwind with a Jab 3300 after continually having valve seats come out. The buyer is putting in another, (different make) engine. It would be interesting to talk to Richard Shirley about his 3300. Many flight schools who use Jabirus run their engines, at least some of them, all the way to TBO. And Colin has flown lots of miles with his 2200 so he would be another person with whom to discuss his thoughts on the subject. What is "crankcase fretting?" I'm having trouble visualizing this but this is when the crankcase "swells" and squeezes the crankcase journals so tightly that the engine won't turn after shutdown until it has had a chance to cool. Naturally something like this, besides causing horrendous bearing wear, eventually leads to a cracked crankcase. It happens on some runs of the 4-stroke Rotax engine too I'm reading. Dealing with maintenance issues like these on both the Jabiru and Rotax are amazingly expensive for new parts. Not even on the same planet VW and Corvair. Mike KSEE ____________________________________________________________ What's your flood risk? Find flood maps, interactive tools, FAQs, and agents in your area. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/547a213db80da213c2ed1st04vuc
