Jabiru J-230?

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roger lee
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Re: Jabiru J-230?

Post by roger lee »

Hi Andy,

To answer your question has anyone done this? Yes
If you take a 1 gal. jug attached to a 12V pump and run a small 1/4" water tube up to the coolant radiator and installed two little misters it brings the temps down fairly fast and does a good job of keeping them there. The problem become water weight and volume needed to store. 1 gal. will work for take off then shut it off until needed again.
Roger Lee
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jcwCT
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Location: Woodbridge, Connecticut

Re: Jabiru J-230?

Post by jcwCT »

I have owned a 2010 J230-SP for five years. I am the second owner. It had flown 160 hrs. when I bought it, and I have flown it 80 hrs. per year.
The J230 was derived from the 4-seat J430. To comply with the ASTM consensus standards for light sport aircraft in the U.S., the rear seat was removed (creating by far largest luggage compartment in an LSA) and the MTOW was lowered from 1,540 lbs. to 1,320 lbs. -- without any structural or mechanical changes -- leading some to say that it has a 220 lb. "structural margin of safety."

An "SP" model designation means that my plane was manufactured in Shelbyville, Tennessee by Jabiru USA using a kit components from Jabiru in Bundaberg, Australia. The current "D" models are manufactured in South Africa with major fuselage components made there (except the engine which comes from Australia) and shipped nearly complete to Shelbyville (now called Jabiru North America) where they install the avionics and do minor finishing and assembly. The “D” model offers two primary advantages. The first advantage is an improved airfoil shaped vertical stabilizer that reduced the amount of rudder needed when taking off, turning, etc. The second advantage is that manufacturing the plane in South Africa costs less, and Jabiru NA has passed those saving on to customers. As a result, a new J230-D today lists for $25,000 - $ 30,000 less than a comparably equipped J230-SP did seven years ago.

Jabiru engines have had their issues over the years, but you need to be careful when evaluating what you hear – there are Jabiru lovers and Jabiru bashers on all of the aviation forums (I am neither) and you’ll find more second hand opinion that firsthand experience. For example, early Jabiru engines did have overheating issues. Some were directly engine related (leading Jabiru to put more and thinner cooling fins on the cylinders). Many of those issues, however, were not engine related and cropped up when the engine was installed in non-Jabiru airframes and cowlings and cooling air flow were not properly engineered. Jabiru also had problems with engine through bolts and nuts and I think it is fair to say that it is unusual that a Jabiru engine makes it to the 1,000 hr./2,000 hr. TBOs for a top-end and complete rebuilds. A few years back, CASA (the Australian equivalent of the FAA) put flight restrictions on Jabiru powered planes that lasted more than a year due to an unacceptable number of engine failures. As it turned out, CASA acted before it adequately analyzed the data on which it based its decision, and the data itself was flawed, and some of those involved at CASA are now under investigation by various legislative committees. I can try to point you to more detailed information on all of this if you want.

As far as performance, the J230-SP is an enjoyable and forgiving plane to fly. Like a Cessna 172, it has few vices. There are certainly more exciting LSAs out there – but they won’t carry a couple of folding bicycles like a J230 will.

I hope this is helpful…

John
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MrMorden
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Re: Jabiru J-230?

Post by MrMorden »

roger lee wrote:Hi Andy,

To answer your question has anyone done this? Yes
If you take a 1 gal. jug attached to a 12V pump and run a small 1/4" water tube up to the coolant radiator and installed two little misters it brings the temps down fairly fast and does a good job of keeping them there. The problem become water weight and volume needed to store. 1 gal. will work for take off then shut it off until needed again.
Thanks Roger, I figured I had not really thought of anything new.

Yeah, the water weight is a problem. But for takeoff and climb, with a very fine mist nozzle, you could probably get away with a half gallon or so. I was thinking of spraying onto the cylinders/heads, spraying on the radiator and/or oil cooler would be much safer...I like it! It would be nice to fill the reservoir up with ice water before a flight, but I don't think you want the water to be *too* cold, lest you crack your oil cooler.

Now that my airplane is E-LSA, and Georgia summer is fast approaching, I might jerry-rig something just to see how well it works.
Andy Walker
Athens, GA
Sport Pilot ASEL, LSRI
2007 Flight Design CTSW E-LSA
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Hambone
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Location: Grass Valley, CA

Re: Jabiru J-230?

Post by Hambone »

Thanks, John. Great info there!

It is the J230's cargo volume that appeals to me. If only the CTSW had more, especially accessible in-flight!
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MrMorden
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Re: Jabiru J-230?

Post by MrMorden »

Hambone wrote: It is the J230's cargo volume that appeals to me. If only the CTSW had more, especially accessible in-flight!
I agree that the J-230 has a bigger baggage bay. However, I have done some pretty serious traveling in the CTSW, and it does great. You can take out the fabric partitions behind the seat and then you can access the baggage in flight, but it's a bit awkward. When I'm traveling solo, I put all the stuff I need to get to in flight in the passenger seat or foot well (secured from the controls), the volume there is very large. And you can remove the seat to increase it if need be.

I think where you are going to run into trouble in the J-230 is with weight. My CTSW has a useful load of 575lb (used to be 585lb before autopilot and wheel upgrade), which is fairly typical, whereas most Jabirus I have seen are closer to 510-530lb. That means that while you have a huge baggage volume, unless you are transporting feather pillows you will likely run out of useful load long before you use half of that space.

I'm not trying to sell you on the CT, I'm just pointing out that space tends to be much less of a problem with LSA than weight is. If you really want an airplane with huge baggage capacity that has the useful load to haul it (700lb), get a Highlander.
Andy Walker
Athens, GA
Sport Pilot ASEL, LSRI
2007 Flight Design CTSW E-LSA
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Hambone
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Location: Grass Valley, CA

Re: Jabiru J-230?

Post by Hambone »

Thanks, Andy. That's useful information, too!

I'm looking forward to checking out a CT when I move back to the US.
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MrMorden
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Re: Jabiru J-230?

Post by MrMorden »

jcwCT wrote: the MTOW was lowered from 1,540 lbs. to 1,320 lbs. -- without any structural or mechanical changes -- leading some to say that it has a 220 lb. "structural margin of safety."
That might be true, and I think I'm catching your meaning. Two CTSWs were safely flown around the world at 1675lb...but I can't *legally* use that 355lb "margin of safety" either. ;)
Andy Walker
Athens, GA
Sport Pilot ASEL, LSRI
2007 Flight Design CTSW E-LSA
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