bushpilot

I held off from making this post until I had some more information on the cause of my engine failure, so as to be able to give an accurate report, to benefit others. But this incident actually happened on 18 October. In short I was flying in one of our J230s with a student when the engine stopped abruptly in the training area - about 10NM from Bathurst aerodrome. The student offered the controls to me to deal with the situation. The link below is a truncated version of my Mayday call.. and some photos – both courtesy of Dave Carroll and his scanning website - and a report by a web journalist – but I don’t know him. The reporter over-stated the ‘cool’ thing a bit; there was still a certain sphincter-factor happening... but I did get my calls out and brief the passenger on each step of the process - which you would expect of an instructor. Time from first call to the actual landing was almost 4 minutes – so a nice long glide from 3,000 AGL to choose a good clear paddock, close to a bitumen road (for retrieval access) and to get set up. “Rescue 22” is a chopper that was operating in the area. They came and landed next to us in the paddock to see if we were OK.. The retrieval of the ‘plane was easy - just unbolt the wings and wack it on the trailer.. Had the new engine delivered 5 days later (weekend in between) and we were back in the air after 9 days. No charge for the new engine – covered by warranty.. Jabiru service was quick and efficient - as was their recent report and photographs of the internal damage. The problem was failure of the gear/s mechanism driving the distributor rotors off the back of the camshaft. This problem is rare indeed, with 3 occurrences to date over 4,500 engines. I guess if there is one key message to pass on - it's to stay calm and think clearly. This gives you the best chance of choosing the right paddock and set up into wind and get spark and fuel isolated. And once you are down and stopped, check for any damage, leaking fuel etc., then switch the master switch back on to make a final call on CTAF letting everyone know you are OK. I did that, as I figured they would get a bit anxious if all remained silent after we had switched off the master switch on late final (After getting the flaps down!) Importantly, that student came back for his lesson the following week.. and several times since. We didn't charge him for the 30 minute lesson with the abrupt ending! http://www.bathurstscan.com/?page_id=25701

A lot of our members (RAAus) come from GA - so this will likely slow that migration; but the main thing is it will allow more pilots to stick with the a/c with which they are familiar..

So for someone that wants to have a go at RC (battery) without investing heaps, initially - what's the best type of unit to start with??

I think the issue for Australia runs much deeper than just this QANTAS issue.. Our unemployment rate it relatively low at present and 'we' are a bit 'fat and lazy'.. Lots of examples, but one of our students owns some retail tyre outlets. He has 125 full time tyre fitters. The most that have ever turned up on a given day is 123 (when all were rostered on). The least (cold Winter Monday) was 10.. Yes 10. He offered them a $200 bonus (on top of normal hourly weekend rate) to work after lunch on some Saturdays - and got not one taker.. Hmmm, I think the reaction by workers in say Thailand or Taiwan or Korea would be a little different..

And, I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but two of our students are in the market for new a/c.. I asked each of them if they had considered Skycatcher - and they both said they had, but they didnt like the look of them.. I have to agree that the very upright screen and cabin shape looks far from streamlined, let alone sexy... But only u can decide that.

One thing I like about the Jabs over some other LSAs is the way they stand up to general wear and tear.. Whilst all 4 of our Jabs are relatively young, one has done over 1,000 hours and near 4,000 landings and a student the other day thought it was new. We do look after them and present them right, but the interiors and exterior keep on looking good with minimal work..

We tried all the fixes mentioned above on one of our J230s and it still refused to fire on cold mornings here in Bathurst.. Then 'the factory' suggested trying NGK Iridium plugs = now starts every time and pulls more revs. - and the plugs last 'forever'. (At this stage only approved for use in the 3300 motor - something to do with certification).

I bet many have had this experience.. I was inbound from our training area with a student (about 12 months ago) and a GA a/c (VH) was departing toward the training area.. I announced our intentions at 5NM and the instructor in the GA a/c advised that they would remain East of the runway centre line, to which I confirmed I would remain West of it - which I did - but maintained a concentrated lookout for them anyway. Then 2 mins later I had a Cessna filling the screen; it was about 50' higher than us and climbing, so we were not going to collide, but the fact that it just appeared like that, despite a focussed lookout, was scary..

I'm doing the Jabiru engine building and overhaul course at Bundaberg this week.. There is a lot more to replacing through bolts and nuts than some might consider.. Will report more fully next week.

Interesting... Wonder what it weighs?

Hmmmm - Just stumbled into this thread after a few days away.. I guess this answers my question in an earlier thread about the post RAAus Board meeting thread being removed.. So you can remove that question / thread, Ian. But I have another question, Ian: Feedback by Board members on this forum is useful to us all - as is (mostly) the observations that some people make relating to that feedback.. But inevitably that feedback and commentary will in some instances be considered 'political'. So is there not a place for that type of discussion anymore? And, if there is, how do you arbitrate on what is acceptable communications and what is unacceptably 'political' commentary?

Just out of interest, I wonder how many 15 year old Pilot Certificate holders are out there? I'm writing an article right now on learning to fly from a young age - focusing on one of our 15 y.o. 'graduates' - and would appreciate hearing of others....

It's never helpful if the media is talking about 'ultralights' or 'rec aviation' in this type of context...

Hi Ian - Speaking of First Class Members - mine must have expired, but I received no notification.. I will re-sign now, but how about offering an open ended subscription for FCMs that deducts against a CCard annually, until further notice?

We varied the RPM quite a bit given the new engine.. But a 'slow' cruise at 2800 rpm gives about 90kts TAS at 5000ft. It is a bit less slippery than our J160.

Sorry about the delayed response; I was o/s when you made this post. A good question. The distance from nose wheel to prop is indeed a fair bit more than both the 160 and 230 - about 200mm. Ditches could present a problem and will need care. We also notice a bit of a nose heavy feel when taxing or on T/O, so we tend to trim back or hold back on the stick.

Yep, no big. Even at high angle of attack and wing down.

No problem with viz. It only comes up to the bottom of the windscreen - at least if you are normal height. The starboard side of the panel is lower than the 'old' panel, hence creating the effect you are seeing. And I took that photo in a low position as we use it for briefings before TIFs.

For those asking for opinions on J170, I have posted some pics and initial observations in another thread: http://www.recreationalflying.com/threads/first-j170d-in-australia.28001/#post-174861

Bas - Just bought our iPad2 this week - solely to run your OZRunways app... Compared to the 'bit squeezy' screen of our iPhones, the app is brilliant on the Pad. Apart from the obvious benefit of being able to plan routes and show tracks overlayed on full WAC (or other) charts, we can now record the tracks taken by students in navexes and show them the results in debrief. We find we dont really need a knee-dock, the Pad is light and sits comfortably on legs without becoming hot or uncomfortable at all.. We have one of the Belkin covers that puts the Pad to sleep when you close it and picks up instantly when you open it, to conserve power - and protects the screen. We just stick it in the Jab door pocket when not needed. Well done OzR guys.

Finally got time to take some more pics of our new J170D, as asked for. We have put more than 50 hours on her in just 3 weeks and the one thing that all the students like is the ease of landing her - compared with our J160. She gets into ground effect in the round out, and all it takes is pulling the power back to idle and wait for her to settle... Easy. To our surprise she handles cross-winds much better than we assumed; a lot to do with the new profile of the fin, we suspect.. And, as expected, the climb rate is 30% better than the 160. All in all a great training package. Click thumbnails to enlarge:

Hi David, No, not endorsing use of one way strips. As mentioned in my post - MTOW; variable air temps, but typically between 10C and 20C. Measurements of 'half' or '2/3rd' are deliberately imprecise, to take account of a range of conditions. In general terms a strip of this configuration is not difficult for a/c like Jabs. - for experienced pilots. I've had C172 and other 'heavies' in here as well.. Cheers Chris

My private strip is 600+ m grass at 2,900' elev. I land and T/O Jab 160 and 230s there - with no problems - and it is a one-way strip with no go-around option (high ridge behind). I land in the last half of it, so dont have to taxi too far on uneven ground; T/O uses about 2/3rd in nil wind and MTOW. So the Jabs are pretty versatile. (And, no, we dont do instruction out of that strip! - just the occasional demo with students..)

Bas - Sorry to be a bit slow with these things - but does tethering to an iPhone for the 3G connection (only) overcome the slow-update issue? I.e. with the GPS on-board the iPad?

Thanks Bas. - I just noticed in one of your earlier comments that an external GPS can be used (with bluetooth).. So is it possible to tether an iPhone to access both GPS and 3G?