gas man

I have been running iridium plugs for 100 hours apparently without problems. The plugs still look good. I forget how I did it but I did carefully narrow the gaps partially but I am not sure if this is necessary. The insulator and central electrode are horribly delicate. The surface area of the central electrode (the bit in the middle)of an iridium plug is a fraction of the conventional plug equivalent due to the robust properties of the metal. The electrode looks more like a pin than a rod. My understanding is that the charge density on this tiny point is therefore very high and that this enhances the spark and also allows it to jump a bigger gap. I do not think that it is possible for the average guy to assess small diferences in engine performance but I am sure that my cold starting has improved with these plugs. It would be important to hear from anyone who has had problems with these plugs. At this stage I am planning to monitor their condition but I guess I will want to retire tham after a couple of hundred hours.

This has been discussed before. The problem with Jabs is that the nose wheel is coupled directly to the rudder pedals and a very limited range of movement and therefore steering arc results. GA spam cans must have some more complicated linkages because they are able to offer tighter steering without allowing excessive rudder movement. In a jabiru tightening the turn with differential braking is going to skid the poor nose wheel laterally and produce associated wear and stress. I am not at all sure that this is a good thing to do. Differential braking with a freely castoring nose wheel is used successfully on some aircraft but the geometry of the nose gear of Jabirus may not be suitable for this. The other plus of this arrangement would beless friction/resistance to movement of the rudder pedals - another problem with Jabs.

There are multiple problems associated with trim on J230/430s. I modified mine in stages. Some of the problems relate to inadequate foreward trim for which there are a couple of well published fixes. I consider the trim lever to be another Jabistical mistake. I have grafted an aluminium extension with woodedn knob onto the trim lever which brings the control backward and upwards and makes it much easier on my short arms. If you wish I can take a photo of it for you although it was a verry basic modification and I am sure that you could think up something similar yourself. You can of course check the tension of the friction bushes and keep everything well lubricated which also helps.

It took two washers for me to get adequate spacing and I bonded them to the socket with a dash of alraldite. I find vertex plus lightspeed to be better than my panel radio. The unit works 100% better when connected to the aircraft antenna although I think it might damage the radios if they were both connected to the same antenna simultaneously.

I have a Jab 430/230 and I employ both landing styles. Two considerations I have are: - the high/no power approach should probably be preceded by some partial power engine cooling time which equates to a slower downwind leg. The jab engine has attracted controversy regarding reliability and it does not have the heavy mass of a GA engine so rapid cooling on every landing might accelerate wear. - In a high/ power off final I am under the impression that at 700kg a little more speed is required to get a decent flare. I have not worked out what the right number is yet.

I put a pair of these in my J430 about a year ago and they are excellent. Sun visors have to be the simplest and most useful modification to a Jab.

Thanks Guys, So many responses and so quick - I must do this again sometime. Lots of excellent ideas and all sound fairly easy to do. Thanks again.

Hello peoples, I am loosing my posting virginity having been strickly voyeur up until now. I have a J430 only 140 hours old and the ram air ducts wont stay where they should because the fibreglass of the ducts has pulled through where the rocker cover nuts tighten. Is this a common affliction? Various remedies spring to mind such as: a fibreglass repair job ( which will probably pull through even faster than the orininal) larger diameter washers (which I have tried but with limited success) bonding and rivetting a small bit of aluminium plate over the fibreglass of the offending bit of duct and then drilling a hole in the right spot for the retaining nut. mounting a bracket and spring to the rear outside of the ducts (similar to the Jab spring/bracket on the inside front of ducts) but where to attach the other end of the spring? Has anyone else been down this road?