Jabiru Questions (round 2 of 2)
Andy (of Suncoast Jabiru)
-----Thank you for your response to my previous questions.
Europa-list members
----- 1. Thank you for your postings to the europa-list in
response to my Jabiru 3300 questions. I appreciate the
shared dialogue and hearing of your experiences and
opinions.
----- 2. Thank you also for the more than twenty private
e-mails that were sent to me and not to this list. Some of
those e-mails informed me of their own Jabiru 3300
installations, or of Europa/Jabiru installations that they
were aware of. Other e-mails thanked me for bringing up the
topic of alternative powerplants. A few e-mails suggested
additional questions for Andy and Jabiru and I have tried to
include their questions below. Three of these private
e-mails were extremely critical of me posting my first set
of Jabiru questions and suggested that powerplant
discussions should be held on another forum. The writers of
those three personal e-mails are in addition to those
list-members who have publicly posted on the europa-list
their dislike for a vendor supplying information to the
list. I believe information that helps us make the most
important decision we face in the construction of our
Europas is worthy of inclusion in this list regardless of
the source so long as it is based on real-life experiences
that can be confirmed. If Andy starts to annoy us with
special offers or other blatant messages of a commercial
nature, then we can ask him to be quiet and return to his
lurking mode.
My Jabiru 3300 questions for today:
1. Reliability: By popular demand, we would like to hear
your comments about reliability. What statistics have
Jabiru gathered? I'm sure others on the list will respond
with their own experiences and observations. This issue is
of utmost concern for all of us evaluating powerplants, and
perhaps the most difficult thing for you to prove to us.
2. Cowling / appearance: I've searched various Jabiru
factory and dealer websites and have been unable to locate
any Europa cowling photos other than Bob Harrison's one-off
(?) solution. I understand from your recent e-mail comments
that there are two commercially available cowlings -- the
one from the Jabiru factory and another one that you
(Suncoast Jabiru) have produced.
3. Installation: Do you have any photos of a recent
vintage Jab 3300, installed in a Europa XS. (The only
images that are easy to find are Bob Harrison's Classic
Europa utilizing a custom cowling (?) and a custom (?)
engine mount? I'd appreciate seeing a series of photos
taken at different stages of the installation showing
pre-install preparation (fuel line and power feeds etc.),
engine mount only installed, then photos with engine
mounted, then with air baffles mounted and modified as
necessary, then with bottom cowl, and finally with the top
cowl all closed up and ready to go.
4. Serviceability and access: I recall Bob Harrison
commenting somewhere that it was challenging to access the
carburetor and perhaps other components in his Europa
Classic. I think he also speculated that access in a Europa
XS would be even tighter due to the XS's extended foot
wells. (Sorry Bob H. if you are not the one who posted this
observation). I would appreciate hearing comments from Andy
or Jabiru users regarding this concern. I also would like
to see photos that illustrate this issue if it really is a
problem and what you do as a "work-around".
5. Electrical generating capability: From the archives of
the Europa List and the Jabiru List, I have found that many
builders believe that perhaps neither Jabiru nor Rotaxes
have alternators sufficient to power all the strobes, nav
lights, wig-wag recognition lights, avionics, and other toys
that we would like to run. Obviously most Europa's are
flown with the standard Rotax or Jabiru alternators, but is
it feasible to stack a pair of the Jab alternators on the
rear of the 3300 like I believe they do on the Jab 5100 and
does the Europa installation leave you enough room to do so?
Would there be adequate room to mount one of B&C's vacuum
pump alternators on the Jabiru vacuum pad, (and does it
work). Are there belt-driven alternators that can be
sourced and do they fit under the cowl?
6. Prop flange design and prop weight: A Europa-List
member has provided very extensive documentation of the
challenges he faced and the modifications he had to make in
order to utilize his chosen constant speed prop with an
early Jabiru 3300. What is Jabiru's current position on
this matter and have modifications, changes to
specifications or other provisions been made in recent years
that address this issue.
7. Lastly, inquiring minds are anxious for the
fuel-consumption update that you mentioned in an earlier
post. We need adequate and realistic fuel performance
details. Fuel usage in a Europa is a huge issue due to the
small tank size. Fuel capacity is only 18 U.S. gallons but
early Europa marketing materials diffused this issue by
discussing Kim Prout's 2.1 GPH economy-cruise experiences in
his 80 HP 912, and Dennis Vorheee's 200 MPH experiences with
his 914. A review of some of a list-member's postings
indicate Jabiru powered Europas will, based on his
experiences, only have a couple of hours of flight time. I
have saved emails from him reporting 7.08 (converted to U.S.
gallons) GPH at 125K and 6.12G GPH at economy cruise (110K).
(I believe his e-mails stated consumption in Imperial
gallons which I hope I have accurately converted to U.S.
gallons.) At his higher consumption rate, that works out to
only 2 hours and 34 minutes from which you have to subtract
a 30 to 45 minute reserve.
Thanks again for everyone's comments,
Bruce L
XS 142
Tracy, California
|