Jabiru Twin redefining Ugly
The Gods must be crazy
Last week (or possibly the week before that), the first Australian built Jabiru twin took flight in Bundaberg. Coming to an airport near you!
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A few weeks ago I was in Bundy and was fortunate enough to watch some of the Jab Twin test flights and afterwards talk to the test pilot. (Much more enjoyable than destroying a perfectly good aircraft to comply with SIDS to solve some data free non existent problem whilst bleeding dollars by the thousand)
The pilot said flying on one engine was a pretty benign event and over the nose visibility was good as the slope of the nose was just a continuation of the windscreen slope. The engines are attached to each end of a canard (nothing wrong with canards
) and the canard is bolted to the firewall where the engine would be if it was a single so it's pretty easy to keep the CofG where you want it. The twin is in Bundy for testing and modification as required. Cowls and vertical stab were to have some attention. I loved the short engine control runs from the cockpit. I reckon if one fell off you could just reach out and operate the engine by hand.
The reason the Jab was modified to be a twin by a Mineral Exploration Company in Africa wasn't due to stroppy farmers toting AK 47's . It was because after a successful forced landing of one of their planes it cost the company millions in ransom money to get their pilots back. They figured it would be cheaper to develop a twin than to risk paying more ransom money. ( This would never happen in Australia. It would be cheaper to pay the ransom money.
)
Cheers RA
The pilot said flying on one engine was a pretty benign event and over the nose visibility was good as the slope of the nose was just a continuation of the windscreen slope. The engines are attached to each end of a canard (nothing wrong with canards
) and the canard is bolted to the firewall where the engine would be if it was a single so it's pretty easy to keep the CofG where you want it. The twin is in Bundy for testing and modification as required. Cowls and vertical stab were to have some attention. I loved the short engine control runs from the cockpit. I reckon if one fell off you could just reach out and operate the engine by hand.The reason the Jab was modified to be a twin by a Mineral Exploration Company in Africa wasn't due to stroppy farmers toting AK 47's . It was because after a successful forced landing of one of their planes it cost the company millions in ransom money to get their pilots back. They figured it would be cheaper to develop a twin than to risk paying more ransom money. ( This would never happen in Australia. It would be cheaper to pay the ransom money.
)Cheers RA
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Its an upgrade to standard 4 seat Jabiru
Same nose wheel weights as current single
160hp vs 120hp from 6 cyl, going to run at max speeds pretty easily
More complicated than the single 6 cyl but a neat way to get a twin.
Same nose wheel weights as current single
160hp vs 120hp from 6 cyl, going to run at max speeds pretty easily
More complicated than the single 6 cyl but a neat way to get a twin.
Famous negative statements,,
Stani,
Braybrooks comment rates with some General saying " I can see no military use for aircraft, they'll just frighten the horses"
And the rest is history
Braybrooks comment rates with some General saying " I can see no military use for aircraft, they'll just frighten the horses"
And the rest is history
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They coulda made it a tri-motor as there is still room up front, or even shoved one on the tail like the trilander and have 4 motors all up....just in case 3 of 'em fail at once.
Folks,
I think it is a rather nice looking little aircraft, I first saw the original quite some time ago, the idea is not new.
Sad they have to do it is SA, because Australia/CASA makes it too hard.
Tootle
I think it is a rather nice looking little aircraft, I first saw the original quite some time ago, the idea is not new.
Sad they have to do it is SA, because Australia/CASA makes it too hard.
Tootle
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I did hear somewhere that some of the airframe components needed some tuning after the flight as you probably could have guessed from the control movements. Something was amiss as the South African variant showed no such signs in the video assuming that the first flight video was actually the first flight.
Who better than to have at the controls than Jamie the owner. Undoubtedly the most experienced test pilot in this country and I'll qualify that by saying that he would have test flown more brand new aircraft than all of us combined.
Who better than to have at the controls than Jamie the owner. Undoubtedly the most experienced test pilot in this country and I'll qualify that by saying that he would have test flown more brand new aircraft than all of us combined.
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I can't stand Jabirus. They're fraught with problems and just about the only aircraft (in the loosest context) that almost comes with a guarantee that you're going to get some sort of emergency or failure. This thing looks like a bad idea from the outset, I'll be looking out for the first crash!
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Jabiru twin
It looks like the Jabiru TWIN has passed all the hoops and is now a certified aircraft in South Africa.
I understand single engine performance is as required for twins but have not seen official figures ( and that is for fixed propeller !).
Re jab engines, time to put some things to rest. The second generation ( ie the first hydraulic lifter ) had issues, oddly enough only seen in flying schools at sea level. After long investigation found due to crank case resonance from the lifters that when added to thermal cycling gave premature wear to thru bolts.
Solved in the third generation ( and also in second generation engines upgraded to third generation specs ).
The reliability of the third generation seems on a large number of hours accumulated significantly better than Rotax.
Fourth generation engines have just started production ( early 2017)
I understand single engine performance is as required for twins but have not seen official figures ( and that is for fixed propeller !).
Re jab engines, time to put some things to rest. The second generation ( ie the first hydraulic lifter ) had issues, oddly enough only seen in flying schools at sea level. After long investigation found due to crank case resonance from the lifters that when added to thermal cycling gave premature wear to thru bolts.
Solved in the third generation ( and also in second generation engines upgraded to third generation specs ).
The reliability of the third generation seems on a large number of hours accumulated significantly better than Rotax.
Fourth generation engines have just started production ( early 2017)
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Theres been plenty of problems in other versions of Jab engines. Problem is far from at rest. Nothing solved for the thousands of owners out there.
There isnt even a clear break between generatons, just slow on line changes.
They are good value and cheap to maintain. Perform well for the weight and are simple design
Latest models are major changes, having lost their main engine part manufacturer, will need many hours in the field before claiming anything.
There isnt even a clear break between generatons, just slow on line changes.
They are good value and cheap to maintain. Perform well for the weight and are simple design
Latest models are major changes, having lost their main engine part manufacturer, will need many hours in the field before claiming anything.
Engine aside Diesel Pilot, what exactly is wrong with Jabiru aircraft?