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Well I've just landed after a very pleasant 40 minutes around Mudgee in my MiniMax. Beautiful cloudless blue sky - high, wide, & handsome. Only a couple of other aircraft sharing the local airspace, lots of fun.

 

When I went into town afterwards to buy fuel, it was absolutely rammed full of peoples - mostly tourists. Made me glad they don't all fly!!

 

Bruce

 

 

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Was an awesome trip.

Picking up your own a/c, honestly it doesn't get any better than that, of all the hours in my log book, (16,000+) the most cherished & enjoyable were the 13 hours flying from Tyabb to Caboolture last September with my wife in our new baby, enjoy your new toy with many safe hours & smooooth landing.080_plane.gif.36548049f8f1bc4c332462aa4f981ffb.gif

 

 

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Picking up your own a/c, honestly it doesn't get any better than that, of all the hours in my log book, (16,000+) the most cherished & enjoyable were the 13 hours flying from Tyabb to Caboolture last September with my wife in our new baby, enjoy your new toy with many safe hours & smooooth landing.080_plane.gif.36548049f8f1bc4c332462aa4f981ffb.gif

Totally agree, I picked up my Jab from Woolongong back to Coominya about a month ago, and I'm still living in the afterglow of that epic flight. Unfortunately my better half hasn't taken the opportunity to fly with me in the new baby yet, but it'll happen 019_victory.gif.9945f53ce9c13eedd961005fe1daf6d2.gifTony

 

 

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We went to the Clifton fly in which is one of our favorite events. It looked a bit doubtful that we'd get there as there were some low clouds. But we managed to get across the range OK and the event was a good one even though the turnout wasn't as large as we've seen in the past.

 

 

 

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We went to the Clifton fly in which is one of our favorite events. It looked a bit doubtful that we'd get there as there were some low clouds. But we managed to get across the range OK and the event was a good one even though the turnout wasn't as large as we've seen in the past.

Once again Scott & Chris

Another great video from you guys

 

Thoroughly enjoyed it

 

 

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Well in the last week I have flown a Jabiru J230 with the all new 6 cylinder engine 3 times for a total of 5.1 hours.

 

It is an absolute joy to fly and with the electronic panel giving very up to date information it is very easy to know what the engine is doing and when and as a result it is not hard to work out why.

 

Typical feature that I would expect to find and was not disappointed.

 

Smooth. The engine is smooth and gives excellent power in a steady consistent manner.

 

That sound. Not much more to say about that.

 

Climbs out at 70 knots comfortably @ 1000 ft/min 1 up and a cruise climb of 90 knots @ 700 ft/min 1 up.

 

20 ltrs/hour @ 2850 rpm for 110 to 115 indicated airspeed.

 

With a fuel capacity of 140 litres this thing can go a long way.

 

It flys like the only other Jabiru J230 that I have flown which is to say it feels like a good well finished aircraft with a comfortable finish that gives a good cocoon like feel inside the aircraft.

 

I must admit that I am not a fan of the Jabiru trim system but having said that it works.

 

70 knots over the fence and with 117 degrees of flap it is easy to trim for that 70 knots.

 

65 knots best glide speed and it is also easy to trim for that with the engine at idle. Hopefully I will never find out whether it is still ok with no engine at all.

 

It has a couple of teething troubles but they would be easy to sort and if it were my plane I would sort them sooner rather than later.

 

I guess only time will tell if Jabiru have gotten it right with this engine, as this is only the second engine and the first in a customer aircraft I guess anyone who flys it is a test pilot but I felt from a drivers point of view that it is a good well balanced airplane.

 

My first flight was an intro flight, although I had flown a J230 before I had not flown this one or a plane with this panel so a familiarisation flight and a few circuits with the CFI

 

Second flight was an hour and a half with a Senior instructor so I could revise some aspects of my flying with someone experienced along side me to keep an eye on things and kick me in the bum if I stuffed up. Stalls, tight turns etc.

 

Today was 2.6 hours Caboolture over the Bay Islands to Q1, then on to Boonah for a leg stretch and a Bannana. Then Gatton, Watts Bridge and home. Smooth clear skys and a ton of fun.

 

Positives.

 

The power in an RAA aircraft is awesome.

 

Fuel for power @ 20 litres per hour for 115 knots, I will take that any day and with the fuel capacity and carrying capacity this is a good touring aircraft.

 

Very tight finish giving a comfortable secure feel to the crew compartment.

 

Negatives

 

This plane flys a little left wing down and needs constant left rudder. It has less than 25 hours, of which I have flown 5 of them but still if I bought a new airplane, I would expect those two things to be sorted before I brought it home. After all it should be just a little bit of trim to fix both issues.

 

It is an air cooled engine, and as such requires more monitoring than a water cooled equivalent. To me this is not a problem as it just means that I am responsible for monitoring and adjusting my flying to suit the plane. Whether this is a good thing in a hire school environment remains to be seen.

 

On the first two flights it did tend to generate high EGT on number 4 at the POH cruise of 2800 rpm. With a little bit of trail and error we found that this was not a problem at 2850 and the POH is being amended to reflect this. This should have been discovered during test flying but as I say the driver needs to take some responsibility for his actions and understanding whet is happening up front helps.

 

Summary

 

If I were buying a new aircraft to go places and carry my passengers in what to them would feel like a real aircraft, then this aircraft would have to be on my must try list.

 

 

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Well in the last week I have flown a Jabiru J230 with the all new 6 cylinder engine 3 times for a total of 5.1 hours.It is an absolute joy to fly and with the electronic panel giving very up to date information it is very easy to know what the engine is doing and when and as a result it is not hard to work out why.

Typical feature that I would expect to find and was not disappointed.

 

Smooth. The engine is smooth and gives excellent power in a steady consistent manner.

 

That sound. Not much more to say about that.

 

Climbs out at 70 knots comfortably @ 1000 ft/min 1 up and a cruise climb of 90 knots @ 700 ft/min 1 up.

 

20 ltrs/hour @ 2850 rpm for 110 to 115 indicated airspeed.

 

With a fuel capacity of 140 litres this thing can go a long way.

 

It flys like the only other Jabiru J230 that I have flown which is to say it feels like a good well finished aircraft with a comfortable finish that gives a good cocoon like feel inside the aircraft.

 

I must admit that I am not a fan of the Jabiru trim system but having said that it works.

 

70 knots over the fence and with 117 degrees of flap it is easy to trim for that 70 knots.

 

65 knots best glide speed and it is also easy to trim for that with the engine at idle. Hopefully I will never find out whether it is still ok with no engine at all.

 

It has a couple of teething troubles but they would be easy to sort and if it were my plane I would sort them sooner rather than later.

 

I guess only time will tell if Jabiru have gotten it right with this engine, as this is only the second engine and the first in a customer aircraft I guess anyone who flys it is a test pilot but I felt from a drivers point of view that it is a good well balanced airplane.

 

My first flight was an intro flight, although I had flown a J230 before I had not flown this one or a plane with this panel so a familiarisation flight and a few circuits with the CFI

 

Second flight was an hour and a half with a Senior instructor so I could revise some aspects of my flying with someone experienced along side me to keep an eye on things and kick me in the bum if I stuffed up. Stalls, tight turns etc.

 

Today was 2.6 hours Caboolture over the Bay Islands to Q1, then on to Boonah for a leg stretch and a Bannana. Then Gatton, Watts Bridge and home. Smooth clear skys and a ton of fun.

 

Positives.

 

The power in an RAA aircraft is awesome.

 

Fuel for power @ 20 litres per hour for 115 knots, I will take that any day and with the fuel capacity and carrying capacity this is a good touring aircraft.

 

Very tight finish giving a comfortable secure feel to the crew compartment.

 

Negatives

 

This plane flys a little left wing down and needs constant left rudder. It has less than 25 hours, of which I have flown 5 of them but still if I bought a new airplane, I would expect those two things to be sorted before I brought it home. After all it should be just a little bit of trim to fix both issues.

 

It is an air cooled engine, and as such requires more monitoring than a water cooled equivalent. To me this is not a problem as it just means that I am responsible for monitoring and adjusting my flying to suit the plane. Whether this is a good thing in a hire school environment remains to be seen.

 

On the first two flights it did tend to generate high EGT on number 4 at the POH cruise of 2800 rpm. With a little bit of trail and error we found that this was not a problem at 2850 and the POH is being amended to reflect this. This should have been discovered during test flying but as I say the driver needs to take some responsibility for his actions and understanding whet is happening up front helps.

 

Summary

 

If I were buying a new aircraft to go places and carry my passengers in what to them would feel like a real aircraft, then this aircraft would have to be on my must try list.

A pretty good review of the 230 and some fair comments about the trim not being sorted out in the test flights. Could the temps issue be because the engine is new and still a bit tight?

 

 

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The crosswind didn't eventuate so I got some solo circuits this arvo.

 

The best part was watching the QLink on final (next door) as I was downwind.

 

Also not being used to circuit traffic, when someone was joining downwind (while I was on the go part of a touch and go), I just climbed to circuit height on upwind before turning crosswind. There he was, on base as I turned on to downwind.

 

These GA aircraft are really fast... That still scares me a bit trying to find traffic... Just have to trust that nice man in the tower I guess.

 

Learned to slow down even more in the C172 on final. That's six solo landings in it now. They are very forgiving.

 

An enjoyable afternoon!

 

 

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A pretty good review of the 230 and some fair comments about the trim not being sorted out in the test flights. Could the temps issue be because the engine is new and still a bit tight?

Possibly Scott but I think it may be more of a jetting issue. As I say at 2850/2900 rpm no problem at all so possibly a little more fuel sorting the problem. Time will tell if this is a problem or not but Jabiru seem happy to adjust the POH to suit.

 

It must be said that Jabiru would without doubt be pinning their future hopes on this engine and in particular this aircraft and those that follow I for one hope that they have sorted there perceived problems as I personally like flying there product in general. The school that I hired this one off also have a J170 on order which i hope to fly as soon as it arrives as well.

 

 

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The crosswind didn't eventuate so I got some solo circuits this arvo.The best part was watching the QLink on final (next door) as I was downwind.

 

Also not being used to circuit traffic, when someone was joining downwind (while I was on the go part of a touch and go), I just climbed to circuit height on upwind before turning crosswind. There he was, on base as I turned on to downwind.

 

These GA aircraft are really fast... That still scares me a bit trying to find traffic... Just have to trust that nice man in the tower I guess.

 

Learned to slow down even more in the C172 on final. That's six solo landings in it now. They are very forgiving.

 

An enjoyable afternoon!

Mate a couple of hours at YCAB on a Saturday will get you used to traffic. RAA training aircraft, GA training aircraft, Gliders and Helicopters. All very exciting and certainly makes you keep a good listening watch on the Radio.

 

 

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Mate a couple of hours at YCAB on a Saturday will get you used to traffic. RAA training aircraft, GA training aircraft, Gliders and Helicopters. All very exciting and certainly makes you keep a good listening watch on the Radio.

Not to mention the wildlife traffic!

 

 

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Just returned from Caboolture TAVAS flying display. Spent Sat there - Mr FV was most impressed that the PA chatter was at a minimum and he could listen to the engines. He likes the vintage engines, rotaries, etc. I liked looking at the very early replicas (we were on the aircraft owners' side of the fence & in the hangars). Chatted to other pilots and friends and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Went home via Gympie - how that has changed since we were last there. Middle of the day and still training and flying going in & around. Now home & happy, having enjoyed a weekend of vicarious flying.

 

Sue

 

 

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Email photo to yourself which normally makes it smaller, save attachment to your pics, then attach that smaller file to your post. Should work, hope this helps.Rgds

Planey

This is the method for resizing photos on an iPad.

 

 

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I looked at the sky early in the afternoon and thought, it'd be nice up there. So I took a nice de-stressing afternoon flight today around Watts Bridge and the Scenic Rim

 

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Beaut day around Melbourne yesterday and the dog's owner wanted some help preparing for an exciting holiday.

 

Just thought I'd include a photo from when I was doing a lot of mountain flying 20 years ago.

 

D6CE6976-4D4A-4211-9E48-5B4B50B7D2CF.JPG.0c5a5ade82319fabe8adbb4c96841d5d.JPG

 

Circuits looking at tight approaches to a short strip. The runway is beside those trees under the wingtip.

 

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Took time out to have a look at that old airfield at Monomeith we discussed here a while back.

 

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Time for a tea break while we discussed stalls in slipping and skidding turns. Then we did some.

 

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Flew the J230 again today for 1.5 hours with my Grandson. We had a ball but again there are what I consider some minor issues.

 

I actually do not think this aircraft is suited to a training environment. This engine requires constant and pedantic monitoring of engine temps.

 

It is very difficult to descend from any height and maintain suitable temps across the board. It is possible but does require serious monitoring and pilot reaction.

 

The EFIS with full engine monitoring helps in this regard.

 

After flying this plane, I would never again feel 100% confident in a Jabiru that did not have full temp monitoring on all cylinders.

 

Some of the readings are to me inexplicable.

 

So would I buy one, Hell yes.I love it.

 

Would I allow a low hour/student pilot or someone without a good mechanical knowledge fly it? Hell No.

 

Some of the Cylinder Head and EGT Temps are almost unbelievable and peak in places that you would never predict.

 

eg. At 2800 rpm number 4 EGT is always high, but at 2850 rpm it is not a problem.

 

As I say it often does feel as though you are flying to the gauges rather than the conditions.

 

What I wouldn't give to fly this plane with a well sorted 914.

 

I suppose that as the only flying Latest Gen Jabiru engine, we are test pilots but that airframe to me is so nice I am willing to fly it.

 

Many I guess would not.

 

 

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Loved the First approach mate, looks like a great day's flying.

Hi Kev,

Looks like we are both loving our flying. I have had heaps of fun in the last 2 years flying the drifter followed by the Courier. The Courier still amazes me with what it can do and where I can put it. Keep those stories from up North coming. Safe flying mate.

 

 

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