Jab 160 lover

[john emmerton]

:welcome:Here's as good a place as any to say g'day John. Welcome to the forum.You will no doubt find other jab lovers and also some jab bashers but take it all with a grain of salt and enjoy yourself

Yes........you are correct.......the "Jabiru" tag elicits much comment...! Very passionate....very intense.....very emotive....reminds me of 50 years ago when I was a 14 yr old teenager, with an absolute fascination for exercising my left wrist by utilising another part of my body. (Always good to exercise, I say to myself....) But I look forward to picking up some Jabiru owner tips from this web site. Cheers my friend, fly safe......I am sure that you do.

(John Emmerton, currently living/working in Alice Springs, and retiring back to S.A. in March 2014.)

 

 

[Jabiru7252]

I wish you all the best. It is pretty exciting flying your own plane across half the country, I have a mate here at Gawler who will being doing that in a few weeks.

 

 

[facthunter]

It's getting pretty hot out there. Take plenty of water and a good EPIRB in case"half the country" is only half what you wanted to fly over. Nev

 

 

[Roscoe]

Not sure if this is the place to do this, but "Hi".......I am a low time jab jock.....about 100 hours total and will be buying a new J160 D in March 2014.

[Roscoe]

Gday John

 

I am looking closely at a new J170D also in March so maybe we can hook up and fly in formation out of Bundy.

 

I will be going up to the Jab Factory next month (from Sydney) to have a chat to the Jab guys.

 

Keep in touch

 

Cheers

 

Roscoe

 

 

[Jabiru Phil]

G

 

My only grype......my doors leak water inflite ( pours in ) intend drilling hole each side on floor, fit removeable rubber bungs, can see litres of water building up there causing me grief.At some stage chase up some rubber profiles to see which one will reduce/eliminate the problem.

G'day Russ,

 

I have had the same thoughts even after fitting the door sills.

 

Further tests with a hose revealed that the water was getting in through the door catch area.

 

I cut some door seal to size and inserted behind the catch, fixed!

 

You will notice that the water runs down the door seal and enters at the catch.

 

Hope this helps

 

Phil.

 

 

[Russ]

Pours in at the top area of the doors, near the plunger thingo....2nd lock thingo.

 

Query.....anyone removed their wings on a 160, what,s involved etc.....toying the idea of trailering it behind the vehicle as we go walkabout. ( just thinking here )

 

 

[Jabiru7252]

You folks with water coming in through the doors, you're not flying in the rain are you? Wooden props fitted to Jabs are NOT supposed to operate in the rain.

 

 

[Peter008]

Have a similar water issue with the 230. It appears that the profile of the doors are slightly different to the shell. We are going to do some alteration of the seal as well as maybe changing the position of the door moulding where the seal sits.

 

A last option would be to slightly straighten the doors where they bulge, so that they fit the opening better so the seal fits better. Have looked at a couple of different door seal profiles to see if that will cure the problem easily.

 

I find when the door leaks water blows directly onto my face. Keeps me awake I suppose......

 

I have never removed the wings but looking at the attachment during the LAME services, it does not appear too difficult. Maybe a small engine crane or similar would assist with the weight of the wing during disconnection of the attachment points.

 

 

[rankamateur]

Pours in at the top area of the doors, near the plunger thingo....2nd lock thingo.Query.....anyone removed their wings on a 160, what,s involved etc.....toying the idea of trailering it behind the vehicle as we go walkabout. ( just thinking here )

So you have never seen a tinnie that has been trailered around Australia then, nearly shakes them to bits. If you end up doing it make sure the springs on your trailer are as soft as you can get to do the job, not heavier for durability.

 

 

[Russ]

You folks with water coming in through the doors, you're not flying in the rain are you? Wooden props fitted to Jabs are NOT supposed to operate in the rain.

Pull revs back to around 2150, reset trim, asi is around 60kts, and keep visual with ground etc. I,m talking light rain here, not full on stuff. Then again old time pilot says same procedure in heavy stuff.....but I,ll give the heavy stuff a miss.

 

Have been caught in light rain a few times enroute, absolutely no prop damage at all doing the above. However avoiding rain is even better.

 

 

[Guernsey]

Not sure if this is the place to do this, but "Hi".......I am a low time jab jock.....about 100 hours total and will be buying a new J160 D in March 2014.

Hi John, welcome to the forum,

 

It is good to see you getting your own aircraft (especially a Jabiru), moving back to SA, having your own hangar at Truro Flats, and getting back with all those fantastic guys and gals up there, life doesn't get better than that. .

 

Haven't been up there for quite some time but will no doubt catch up with you again sometime.

 

All the best,

 

Alan and Jacqueline Marriette.

 

 

 

 

[deadstick]

Hi John,

 

congrats on your decision to purchase a plane, I too own Jabiru aircraft a 230 and a 160, to say that my run with these aircraft has been abysmal would be an understatement to rub salt into the financial wound the factory has behaved both deceptively and arrogantly.

 

Its easy to call me a Jab basher but my advice is based on experience I too was once passionate about the plane but it quickly changed to frustration and financial depletion as I bounced from one component failure to another. I am not alone in this position and prior to forking out your hard earned talk to lots of owners, sure there will be those with good and bad but weigh up how many bad to catastrophic experiences and you will clearly see a trend, not one owner in my previous location would purchase one again, and given the engines reputation when it comes time to sell you wont even be able to give it away ( I know).

 

I would recommend that you very carefully consider your purchase as once its out the door in my experience the factory will be of no assistance.

 

I am sorry to rain on your parade as they say but I wish someone had have pointed out the statistics before I blindly outlaid my cash on these aircraft.

 

By all means PM me with your email and I will send you correspondance from the factory that may change your mind, history of both my aircraft and the latest issue, the factories theft of my property.

 

 

[deadstick]

The common factor with these 'lemons' is the owner. Think about it.

Ouch that hurts! lol

 

You might be on to something? do you work for Jabiru? that seems to be their official line...

 

 

[Jabiru7252]

Wow - you're fast! I deleted the post lest you hunt me down, set my face on fire and then put it out with a shovel. Anyway, no, I do not work for Jab. It just seems that there must be some common factor as to why you would have two completely useless jabs, perhaps you are being punished for some nefarious activities in a previous life. I don't know. Be assured that I am out to hurt or cause trouble, just in search of knowledge...

 

 

[deadstick]

Wow - you're fast! I deleted the post lest you hunt me down, set my face on fire and then put it out with a shovel. Anyway, no, I do not work for Jab. It just seems that there must be some common factor as to why you would have two completely useless jabs, perhaps you are being punished for some nefarious activities in a previous life. I don't know. Be assured that I am out to hurt or cause trouble, just in search of knowledge...

Your funny, thanks for the laugh! that's genuine and not sarcasm, that first line has me in stitch's.... drop over to the jab thread I posted an independent report on the 3300 that failed in my 230, now I can understand engines will have issues.

 

 

[dazza 38]

Wow - you're fast! I deleted the post lest you hunt me down, set my face on fire and then put it out with a shovel. Anyway, no, I do not work for Jab. It just seems that there must be some common factor as to why you would have two completely useless jabs, perhaps you are being punished for some nefarious activities in a previous life. I don't know. Be assured that I am out to hurt or cause trouble, just in search of knowledge...

Some engines have failed before the maintenance service. IIRC one dropped a valve with a massive TT of 8 hours.

This would be a laughing matter if it wasn't for the financial hardship that some of my fellow aviators have had to put up with. I am wondering if these engines are actually made of metal and not crystal.

 

 

[rankamateur]

Ceramic might be a better choice?

 

 

[planesmaker]

The old saying' if you want something done properly do it yourself ' build your own then put what ever motor you will be happy with, least that's what I did. Very very happy with my jabiru! Tom

 

 

[Jabiru7252]

The old saying' if you want something done properly do it yourself ' build your own then put what ever motor you will be happy with, least that's what I did. Very very happy with my jabiru! Tom

What motor did you use? The problem is that not all of us have the resources available to build our own plane.

 

 

[planesmaker]

What motor did you use? The problem is that not all of us have the resources available to build our own plane.

A rotax 914 in a j400. A jab is easy to build not requiring a lot tech know how you learn a lot on the way. Tom

 

 

[Jabiru7252]

I guess the CofG and other similar issues presented no serious challenge? Did you do the flight tests - that is handling tests under all conditions? I would need grow bowling balls before I could get into a plane, even one I built and then go out and see how it handles under all the nasty conditions one could put it in. By resources I mean any special tools, a shed, time etc.

 

 

[alf jessup]

Hi John,congrats on your decision to purchase a plane, I too own Jabiru aircraft a 230 and a 160, to say that my run with these aircraft has been abysmal would be an understatement to rub salt into the financial wound the factory has behaved both deceptively and arrogantly.

Its easy to call me a Jab basher but my advice is based on experience I too was once passionate about the plane but it quickly changed to frustration and financial depletion as I bounced from one component failure to another. I am not alone in this position and prior to forking out your hard earned talk to lots of owners, sure there will be those with good and bad but weigh up how many bad to catastrophic experiences and you will clearly see a trend, not one owner in my previous location would purchase one again, and given the engines reputation when it comes time to sell you wont even be able to give it away ( I know).

 

I would recommend that you very carefully consider your purchase as once its out the door in my experience the factory will be of no assistance.

 

I am sorry to rain on your parade as they say but I wish someone had have pointed out the statistics before I blindly outlaid my cash on these aircraft.

 

By all means PM me with your email and I will send you correspondance from the factory that may change your mind, history of both my aircraft and the latest issue, the factories theft of my property.

Hey Deadstick,

 

I am so sorry you are one of the crappy maintenance owners Jabiru seems to have to deal with, as all of their engines are perfect if left in the box and never started.

 

You need to become a Rotax owner as we MUST have as many crappy maintenance owners with them and they don't seem to stop on the regularity of the big J.

 

Jabiru just can't come to grips with admitting they produce a very ordinary engine for a brilliant airframe, it is far easier to blame the owner than the inferior engine if you want to call it that they produce.

 

I am not bashing the airframe just the thing that supposed to drive the spinny thing reliably up the front.

 

It's a bit like playing Russian roulette with half of the barrels loaded, you could be lucky and get a mid week built engine and not a Monday morning or Friday afternoon one which seems to be the most productive times to build.

 

 

[DrZoos]

I was very glad i did my research . I actually placed a deposit on a jab, only to back out once i did the proper research. What made the decision for me was four or five things.

 

This is not jab bashing. Its merely my story ( opinion) of why i pulled out of purchasing one.

 

1. The number of jabs for sale with say 300 hour engines and 780 hour airframes.

 

2. When we researched putting on the rotec heads to solve the cooling issue, we discovered several who forked out $5500 plus and the still had a failure.

 

3. The very low hour jab failures that could not possibly be attributed to poor owner maint. Eg the guys that crashed flying home from collecting their jab from the factory.

 

4. The fact that there must be equal amount of crappy rotax maintainers, but they seem to make tbo very often, rather then occasionally,.

 

5. The number of stories of owners that have had multiple engine failures , only to be blamed

 

Some will say we have heard all this before, its not posted for you, its posted as info for newbies only ...

 

Any how your all grown ups make your own decisions and enjoy flying. There are some bad stories but there are also many jab owners happy as pigs in mud.

 

 

[Jabiru7252]

Can you send me a copy of the data you collected and the source? I am very interested in the numbers, especially those regarding "the guys that crashed flying home from collecting their jab from the factory". Where I fly we have got 1000hrs out of the engines before getting them replaced. Those poor engines being flogged by newbies is cruel and unusual punishment yet they keep going. Anyway, I digress. Thanks in advance and safe flying...