John Womer

That looks fantastic, Earl! the I particularly like the plexiglass spinning prop. And congratulations on your J230D. I own a 2010 J230-SP (Australian kit factory assembled by Jabiru NA), equivalent to the 230C with a large instrument panel in your market. Jabiru NA is now selling the 230D (brought in complete except avionics from etc South Africa --which let them drop the price els20%). Word is the aerodynamic vertical stabilizer revisions on the 230D make it less "rudder-happy" than those with the older flat vertical stabilizer like mine. I bought my model from FDM a few years ago from Factory Direct Models. At the time it cost $350US ... half of what a T-hanger like mine rents for in New England!

Thanks everybody for the feedback. I appreciate it. My thought was to add an actuator to control the existing trim mechanism -- something that would move the existing lever. I forgot about the need for the system to slip on its friction washers at elevator movement extremes. A linear actuator like Dave Jacka ("On a Wing and a Chair") used in his plane would not allow the system to slip like that. And I would think that any servo motor based system that was set "loose" enough to slip like that, wouldn't be able to move the lever. Not interested in adding anything like movable trim tabs... I seem to remember reading somewhere that some of Rod Stiff's early experimentation with control surfaces resulted in a decapitated horse!

I would like to add an actuator to control the existing trim mechanism

I am thinking about adding electric elevator trim to my 2010 J230. I have comparatively short arms and, even with longer trim levers installed, I still find myself wishing I could make adjustments with a switch on my control stick or panel. The two possible approaches I have identified at this point are 1) a servo based trim system kit from Ray Allen Company and 2) using a electric linear actuator. I would appreciate hearing from those who have made this modification. Thanks!

Email sent to Steve. Thanks.

Apologies for not replying until now... The problem was that the check valve in the right wing root... It didn't have the "bleed" like the left one did. Replaced both with new Andair check valves with the "bleed" and tanks now stay dead even.

Sorry for the delay in replying. Many thanks for your suggestions. At present, fully blocking off the face of my oil cooler gets my oil temp up to 67c with an OAT of -18c, and on approach it staying just above the 49c minimum -- so no more flashing red lights. Not ideal, but certainly better.

Thanks for your feedback, guys. I really appreciate it. I think I'll start by covering part of the oil cooler with a small sheet of aluminum. Coincidentally, I ran into the guy who rents the hangar next to mine yesterday morning. He's got an RV-12 with a Rotax engine and, in the winter, he covers about 40% of his oil cooler with a piece of sheet metal secured by two of the bolts that hold his oil cooler in place. I definitely need to get on this... It was cold again yesterday and even when climbing from 5,000 ft. to 10,000 ft. at a steady 300 ft. per minute, my oil temp didn't get over 61 °C. What is an ideal oil temp with a Jabiru 3300?

I am having an issue with my 2010 Jabiru J230-SP. The weather early this morning was typical for this time of year in New England... sky clear, temperature 0.0°C , dewpoint -4.0°C, and a light wind. My guess is that it was about 7°C inside my hangar, and I leave a Tanis heater on all the time. My oil temp when I started up was 29.4 °C . Ten minutes of idling at 1200 RMP got it up to 32.2°. Taxiing five minutes to the end of the runway got it up to 40°C. And 1800 RPM mag checks and idling at 1400 RPM during run up got it up to 45.6 °C. My POH lists the minimum oil temperature for take-off and flight at 48.9°C. I usually get there by the time I am 1000 feet AGL, but when I throttled back at pattern altitude while doing touch and goes, and then on approach after practicing ground reference maneuvers away from the airport, the oil temp quickly dropped back between 44°C and 46°C. I am not particularly concerned about being a few degrees low. I am using AeroShell 20W-50 and I have no doubt it is flowing. The problem is over the next four months there will be many times when I want to fly and the ambient temperature will be in the -17°C to -7°C. The Diamond DA-40 that I took lessons in last winter had metal inserts that partially blocked the cowl ducts behind the prop... but the cowl ducts on my J230 are already half "blocked" from the factory. Any thoughts and suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks!

I've got significant air leaks around both front doors of my "new" 2010 J230-SP (factory built U.S. model). Things I've noticed: Both doors seem to fit identically. When each door is securely closed, the gap between the door and the fuselage is even all the way around, and the edge of the door is flush with the fuselage everywhere EXCEPT for the lower rear corner. Beginning approx. 4" (100 millimeters) below the door lock, and extending around the corner to the bottom center, edge of the each door protrudes approx 1/8" - 3/16" (3.0 - 4.5 mm) beyond the fuselage. With little effort, I can push each door inward to make it flush with the fuselage but, of course, they pop out as soon as I let go. The upper half of each door frame is fitted with a piece of 3/8" x 3/8" (9.5mm x 9.5mm) white EPDM "D style" weather stripping that runs from just above the upper hinge runs, along the top, and down to the striker plate. There is no weather stripping fitted to the bottom half of each door frame or anywhere on the doors themselves. And when looking from the inside with the doors closed, outside light is visible around each door except where the EPDM weather stripping is installed. I found one reference to weather strip "glued around all edges of the door" in the J230/J430 "Aircraft Service Manual" but nothing else in any other Jabiru documents as to what is normal. I would appreciate knowing whether this is a common issue, what weather stripping came "standard" on other planes, and what modificatios -- if any -- other Jab owners have made to reduce or eliminate leaks around their doors. Thanks! (Photo of my front door and door frame attached).

Talked with my CFI who flew the plane back. His recollection is that the gauges were almost even when we landed and that the issue may well be as simple as the hangar floor not be as level as it looks. I've topped off both tanks and, if the weather cooperates, we'll have her in the air tomorrow and see how that goes.

Many thanks, guys. I'll definitely check into/experiment with all that you suggested. Actually, I am still working towards my license. I started training for my PPL in a Diamond DA40, then decided to go for an SPL to avoid the hassle and expense of getting a "special issuance" 3rd class medical certificate. And since there aren't any LSAs available to train in near hear (and I planned to eventually buy my own plane anyway) I bought the J230 to both train in and fly afterwards. Most of our flight was at night, so my CFI did most of the piloting. And while we did have a left quartering headwind most of the way, he kept the "ball" in the center the whole way -- at least according to the G3x EFIS. I'll let you all know how I made out and, again, thanks.

New owner here. Picked up N731J (2010 J230-SP) in Shelbyville ten days ago and flew home to KOXC (Oxford, CT). We left Lynchburg, VA with a full fuel load, the three fuel shutoff valves (left, right, main) all ON, and the fuel gauges on the G3X reading full for both tanks. A few hours into the flight we noticed that the right tank level was dropping faster than the left. By the time we got home, the right tank was reading much lower than the left. Got out my new Jabiru fuel stick this afternoon. Left tank reads 15 gallons... right tank no reading on the stick at all. That tells me I've got a blocked/pinched fuel line. Anyone else had this issue with their Jab? Thanks in advance for any guidance.

Thanks for the kind welcome Gents! I'll post a pic when the deal is signed...

I'm a 52 year-old student pilot in Connecticut, USA going for my Sport Pilot license. And with luck, by next week I'll be the proud owner of an almost new Jabiru J230-SP. I would appreciate any input from those familiar with the J230 or it's siblings about the following... ...Even during a mild winter like this one, early morning temperatures here are typically between 20 degrees and 40 degrees F (-6 degrees and 4 degrees C). Until now, I've been training in a Diamond DA-40 and, on cold mornings -- even though we've just pulled the plane out of a heated hanger -- the inside of the the entire canopy quickly fogs over as soon as my CFI and I close the hatch. And even with the cabin heat/defrost on full defrost (not to mention plenty of fresh air from vents and small side windows) the canopy doesn't completely clear until we've taken off. I see that while the J230 has two fresh air/cabin heat vents under the instrument panel, there isn't any way to direct the airflow toward the windscreen.. and, that the side windows don't open. Is fogging on cold mornings a problem? If so, how do people handle it? If it is an issue, one thought I had was to install a small fan at one end of the instrument panel -- maybe one of those small (6 in./150mm.) 12 volt fans you sometimes see used in buses or trucks, or one of the small box fans used to cool desktop computers and avionics. ... The J230s I'm looking at all have EFISs -- either Garmin or Grand Rapids -- which, I've read, can be difficult to read if you wear polarized sun glasses. I've seen a few pictures of Jabirus with Rosen sun visors installed and thought I might go that route -- but one person I know who had their "universal fit" model installed isn't very happy with them because they don't cover a lot of area. ... I'm 5' 8" with fairly short legs, and the J230s I'm looking at don't have adjustable pedals. I know I can use a second cushion, but I don't find those very comfortable. Has anyone tried any kind of pedal extensions? I own a small business with a machine shop, and it looks like it would be a no-brainer to fabricate something... nothing big like what Cessna uses... maybe just two small "blocks" on the front surface of the pedals like this picture. Thanks in advance for your input!

I'm a 52 year-old student pilot on Connecticut, USA going for my Sport Pilot License. And, with luck, by next week I'll be the proud owner of an almost new Jabiru J230-SP.