Jabiru V C172/PA28

[glenb]

Interested if anybody has flown the newer Jabiru aircraft and how you found them compared to the traditional aircraft used for abinitio training. Particularly interested in cockpit room or lack thereof, noise, performance, and reliability. Thanks for any input.

[Ultralights]

a 2 seat jabiru has more cockpit room than a C152, the 4 seaters same as a Piper Archer

cruise at 120 Kts, using 20 ltrs an hr. (4 seat) 95 kts cruise at 15ltr/hr (2seat)

only flying a 2 seat early jabiru after stepping out of a Archer, i found the Jabiru to be more responsive requiring lighter pilot inputs, literally 2 finger flying! but unlike the archers, you need to lead into and out of turns with rudder. and quite a bit of it. just using aileron only will not produce a turn, just dip the wing. i found the approach speeds of the Jabirus a little too fast for their weight, aim for 60 kts over the threshold, and with relativly small control surfaces, requires quite a large control stick move for the same result in a archer. although the response is immediate.

The centre stick control is easy to fly with as well as the throttle between the legs on the 2 seat jabs.

Cockpit noise is probably a little less, probaly due to the smaller diameter props turning at 3000 Rpm full power and 2800 cruise.

As for reliablilty, well, almost all 4 seat jabs will be no more than 5 yrs old! i have equal hours in Jabirus as i do Archers, and have never had a failure of any kind in any aircraft

The big difference obviously is weight, and less weight means less inertia so you will find pulling power at 30 ft and gliding into the flare will result in a hard landing in a jab as it will lose speed rapidly, i find myself over the key with a little power and dont pull it to idle unti i begin the flare.
In turbulent air the jab is a little rougher, but not too much,

crosswind capability is the same, at 15 kts max. but i find countering crosswind with aileron in the jabiru is much easier for some reason.

[Bendo]

The Jab is a pig in turbulence. The rudder characteristics described above are not unheard of in the RAAus world, but given many students find rudder co-ordination an issue in Spam cans, the Jab isn't going to help that :ugh:

For middle-aged, can't-pass-a-medical or "dreamer" types :rolleyes: a Jab might be fine but for other students going on to bigger (dearer) things a Gazelle is a better trainer, or a Skyfox (taildragger) better still.

What do we think of Tecnams?

Cheers

[gas-chamber]

Has anyone much experience of a taildragger Jabiru? Comments appreciated.
I don't much fancy any of the ultra light tricycle gear offerings as they all look tooo flimsy in the nosewheel department, but would like something with a bit of local product suppport.

[VH-XXX]

I own and operate a J400, 4 seater Jabiru... PM me if you want any specific (correct and precise) information. There is much hear-say on this site which is usually mostly incorrect when it comes to Jabiru's.

The figure of 120 knots on 20lph is pretty much accurate.

As for Jabs being a "pig" in turbulence, this isn't exactly the best description.

PM me and I'll fill you in or give you a call.

I also have a mate with a Tail-Dragger jab so I can put you in touch with him if you want. Jabiru don't make tail-draggers any more, however there is a gentleman in the process of building a J200 tail-dragger convertible with Rotary 200hp engine! stay tuned for more on that one!

Intertia in the bigger jabs is definitely increased over the little ones. The J200/J230/J400/J430 have a massive amount of inertia giving smooth zoom climbs of around 800ft with ease.

The Jab will produce a far better pilot than a Gazelle ever will. Converting to GA (C172 / Archer) is a complete non-event for a Jab Pilot; the problem usually lies in the reciprocal with "normal" GA pilots unable to successfully complete a flare in the jab for the first few landings.


As per the Jab website, a J400 *WILL* at MTOW out-perform an EMPTY 172 !!!

[barney01]

Early Jabbys do need lots of hands and feet work and do "wag the tail" in turbulence - much nicer with a bigger/longer tail.

As for it being just for middle aged people who can't pass a medical types - get over your selves! Most Jabiru drivers I teach are either ex GA or have moved into GA. The medical issue is for the most part irrelevant (and if EvilUltralights wants to debate this please use facts only!).

Yeap the nose wheel will break if you try hard enough - I've never had one break and neither has a student of mine ever broken one. Again an issue but the more you know about the issue the less of an issue it becomes.

Gazelle is extremely easy to fly - unlike the Jabiru - which is a good and bad thing. This becomes like the old Holden vs Ford arguement.

Tecnams are great but VERY pricey. Plenty of better value out there and locally built.

Have a look at the Light Wing Speed - Just as nice as a tecnam but cheaper and more robust and LOCAL.

[Ultralights]

a line i have heard a few time regards the jabs, is they are easy to fly, but difficult to fly well. and moving from GA to RAA and mainly Jabirus, i found i pretty much had them mastered in about 3 hrs of circuits. and yep, it takes a little getting used to the wagging tail in rough air, i usually ignore it and let the aircraft sort itself out in rough air.

I would be interested to know more about the Rotary powered jabiru, i am considering putting a detuned Rotary in a Savannah Kit, as i have a spare 13B engine in the shed. will he be using a custom engine mount or modified Jabiru mounts??