Jabiru engines on the brink ??

[MadMuz]

If the issues are the heads and valves suffering from overheating, wouldn"t those water cooled heads and extreme duty (best quality) valves not be a reasonable step towards a fix? Surely if someone else other than Jabaru can make watercooled heads, then surely Jabaru could persue the same avenue themselves?That little Russ-aru you have Russ is a great little machine...... hopefully a suitable fix can be found quickly....

[tonydenton]

just sitting on the side line here but that seems a lot of rotax engine failures either partial or full. I always think of the 4 stroke engines but would that be some 2 stroke rotax then in smaller planes ?????

[Russell]

Recreational Aviation Australia (RA-Aus) met with Jabiru and CASA today (14 November 2014) in relation to the recent proposed actions by CASA that would affect owners and operators of Jabiru aircraft and Jabiru powered aircraft.RA-Aus maintains its stance that the available data suggests that Jabiru engines are more likely to fail than a comparable 4 stroke Rotax engine but insists that our operators should be free to exercise their informed judgement and assess the risks for themselves. We also question whether the CASA proposed remedies are the best action to take given the risks posed.RA-Aus feels that the meeting was constructive and has outlined a way for Jabiru and CASA to address the risks highlighted by CASA in a manner that will minimise the imposition on aircraft operations. Jabiru and CASA have committed to working together to arrive at a solution.In the meantime RA-Aus once again encourages all affected stakeholders to contact CASA with their views on the proposed restrictions and to engage with other appropriate parties to escalate their concerns if they wish to.As per our earlier advice the relevant contacts are:The Minister for Transport, the Hon Warren Truss, W.Truss.MP@aph.gov.auYour local federal member details can be found at www.aph.gov.au with state and local details available at the relevant government website.Lee Ungermann of the SASAO office within CASA can be contacted at lee.ungermann@casa.gov.auPlease include admin@raa.asn.au on all correspondence to CASA and members of parliament.Reported data for 2014 year to date (January through October) Jabiru Rotax All (includes other engine types) Hours flown 41834 71626 131227 Landings 92735 145638 260383 Engine failures (full or partial) 28 16 51

[Russell]

Yes Rotax can be fitted......to certain models only, changeover around $40k.....phew I hear.The paper work is mind blowing.......it"s a hard task to achieve. If....your jab is factory built and type certified .....Forget it.Some late news......there is possibly a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel......let"s see what transpires. I own a J160C

[MadMuz]

Its pretty sad really, such a neat little plane..... can they be fitted with rotax 4 bangers? I went to their factory in about 1998 when they were just getting started, or hadn"t been started long at least

[gyroo]

Yeah - this has been brewing for a while.The Rotec water cooled heads aftermarket "fix" apparently cuts the likelihood of an engine-out event very significantly.I"m not sure that it will be enough for CASA though. That bad stats have been rising steadily, which is a shame because the Jab has been so successful for so long.Mark R

[MadMuz]

I saw this link on another forum, it seems to be a draught, for now? Will prolly know more after 20/11/14..... not goodhttp://www.casa.gov.au/wcmswr/_assets/main/newrules/download/spc-cd1425ss.pdf

[Disco]

I remember having a few beers with a guy who sells a cooling system for the Jab at Temora NatFly a couple of years ago so there have been so called fixes available.

[Russell]

Casa
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