Jabiru engines seem to have a pretty mixed reputation in Aus. During a factory tour at Brumby Aircraft (Australian designed and built certified LSA) last year I spoke with the senior engineer about their experience. He told me they had delivered 10 aircraft with Jabiru 3300's and 3 had major failures within the first 50 hours. Their preference is now strongly for Rotax, despite the lower power and they'll only install a Jabiru now if the customer insists.
On the other hand, there are plenty of people who love Jabirus and have had no issues - although it does seem rare to see a Jabiru for sale whose engine hours match the airframe hours. One recent development that looks very promising is Rotec's liquid cooled heads. Too soon to know whether they make a big difference but their claim is they will enable a Jabiru engine to reach its stated TBO. They also claim the heads are lighter than the original so the overall solution doesn't add any weight (although it clearly adds complexity). I'm thinking seriously about taking this direction. By the time I'm ready for the engine they should have a bit of a track record. I really want arond 120HP since I've widened and lengthened the fuse, bumped up the MTOW and want to operate off a relatively short grass strip. The Corvair story doesn't add up outside North America (in my opinion) due to parts availability, local support, etc. and it's heavier than I'd like as well. The budget won't stretch to a Rotax 914 or the UL Power engine and Subaru's too heavy as well. That doesn't leave many choices and the Jab 3300 really fits the bill - if only there weren't so many horror stories about reliability. I'd really like to hear some success stories from Jabiru owners. Unfortunately happy customers are usually a lot quieter than unhappy ones so it's a bit hard to tell what's the real likelihood of getting a lemon. Tony King Queensland Australia On 26 August 2011 06:58, Vaughan Thomas <v...@xtra.co.nz> wrote: > I dont understand the "excess" power thing, but down under ( New Zealand), > the Jabarus are treated as a bad joke, beautiful , light, have the grunt > sure. But how many issues do they have? valve & head failures, (known to > have dropped valves through pistons) causing engine outs, probably the wost > are the poor flywheel dowling design which has caused countless flywheels > to > part company with the crank (great for ignition timing!) These engines have > had hundreds of mods from original & have they got it right yet? Vaughan > Thomas > Hamilton > NewZealand > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "phil brookman" <pjb1234...@yahoo.co.uk> > To: "KRnet" <kr...@mylist.net> > Sent: Friday, August 26, 2011 7:58 AM > Subject: Re: KR> Jabiru 3300 > > > that seems on the face of it ridiculous .... > powerfull and what would that cause ..... > what effects does he think will happen .... > phill > > > > > > ________________________________ > From: Peter Drake <p...@kingsland.uk.com> > To: KRnet <kr...@mylist.net> > Sent: Thu, August 25, 2011 5:19:16 PM > Subject: Re: KR> Jabiru 3300 > > Hi > > I have just had an email from the cheif engineer of the LAA and he has > refused to let us use a Jabiru 3300 in a KR2S because he says it is too > powerful! > Has anyone got any stress data that I can hit him back with? > > A frustrated Peter Drake > Hereford UK > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Peter Drake" <p...@kingsland.uk.com> > To: "KRnet" <kr...@mylist.net> > Sent: Monday, August 22, 2011 3:22 PM > Subject: KR> Jabiru 3300 > > > Hi All > > There has been some discussion about Jabiru engines. > > I am in the process of purchasing a Jabiru 3300 for my KR2s > We feel we need the extra grunt of 120hp to get out of some of the tiny > farm > strips we have in the UK. > Is there anyone flying a KR with one out there? > > > > -- > I am using the free version of SPAMfighter. > We are a community of 7 million users fighting spam. > SPAMfighter has removed 2575 of my spam emails to date. > Get the free SPAMfighter here: http://www.spamfighter.com/len > > The Professional version does not have this message > > > > _______________________________________ > Search the KRnet Archives at http://www.maddyhome.com/krsrch/index.jsp > to UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@mylist.net > please see other KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html > _______________________________________ > Search the KRnet Archives at http://www.maddyhome.com/krsrch/index.jsp > to UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@mylist.net > please see other KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 8.5.449 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/3856 - Release Date: 08/25/11 > 06:34:00 > > > _______________________________________ > Search the KRnet Archives at http://www.maddyhome.com/krsrch/index.jsp > to UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@mylist.net > please see other KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html >
