October 2008 Cover Story:
We Fly the Jabiru LSA

Story by Jay Wischkaemper

There is little question that the advent of the light sport category of aircraft has changed the landscape of general aviation, but not necessarily in the way its promoters predicted. The idea behind the LSA rules was to make getting a license more affordable for those who were only interested in recreational flying. In reality, while that may be possible, very few entering pilots have taken advantage of the light sport certificate. What the rule has done is to extend the aviation life of many older pilots who, because of looser medical requirements in the Light Sport category, are still able to operate an aircraft under LSA rules. An admittedly unscientific survey of retailers and manufacturers of light sport aircraft indicates that most of their customers are just such people, mostly older former aircraft owners who still want to fly, and who have the resources to drop a hundred grand or so to continue that pursuit.

The choices are abundant for those able to purchase an LSA. Currently, over 50 manufacturers offer a wide variety of aircraft. Many of those designs, however, are great for flying, but not very good for traveling. They’re fun to fly, and if you’re looking for something that will let you look at the ground from above and have fun doing it, the choices are abundant. If you’re looking for a light sport aircraft that will allow you to travel and actually take more with you than a toothbrush, your choices are more limited. One choice that fits the bill is the Jabiru 230/250/170.

The Jabiru design originated in Australia, and has been around in various forms since 1988. Several years ago the company that was providing engines for the Jabiru stopped
production, and as a result, Jabiru decided to build their own engines. Three models are built, and are frequently seen in homebuilt aircraft as well as a few certificated aircraft. The Jabiru engine has been available in the U.S. longer than the certificated aircraft. The airplanes got their real foothold in the American market in 2005 when Pete Krotje made an agreement with the Aussies to manufacture and distribute the plane for the American market. Pete set up a manufacturing facility in Shelbyville, Tennessee, about 45 miles south of Nashville. Things started slow, but have progressed to the point where the company is delivering one aircraft per week, a comfortable number for the current workforce and facility.

As is the case more often than not in the LSA market, most of the people purchasing a new Jabiru are former Bonanza owners who have lost their medical. The second largest group is former 182 owners. They have sold a few models to flight schools, but affluent pilots with medical issues are their main market.

So what sets the Jabiru apart in the LSA market? The main thing is size and handling. This is a really big airplane. In fact, to look at it, you would find it hard to believe that an airplane this big could have a gross weight that would qualify under LSA rules. The reason for this is that the design started out as a four-place aircraft, and still contains four seats in Australia. With the two rear seats removed, you have a cavernous luggage area that is capable of hauling anything you would care to carry, and the CG is wide enough to carry just about anything that will fit. It also goes without saying that an aircraft that was designed for four seats but carries two is designed with more strength than is required (for a two-place airplane).

The Jabiru is not without its own quirks. The most noticeable is the control stick. It is a stick, but is located in the center between the seats. Throttle controls are on the side of the panel. It’s not right or wrong, it’s just different, and like anything else in an airplane design, it’s simply a matter of getting used to it. Another unusual part of the design is that the cables that control the ailerons are in plain sight, routed right behind the pilot’s seats. Again, nothing wrong with it, but something you don’t normally see.

Crawling into the cabin required some contortions, but for the average-sized person, it’s not a problem. Once inside, there’s plenty of room and the seats are comfortable. The cabin is larger than you find in most LSAs. It’s nice if you happen to be the right size, because neither the seats nor the rudder pedals are adjustable. I’m 5 foot 7 and the seating was adequate for me, although I might like to be a couple of inches more forward. Since I’m probably a little shorter than average, for most people the seating position would probably be fine. Jabiru compensates for this limitation by custom designing the seats for each customer. If you happen to be a little short, they will put extra padding in the back of the seat. If you happen to be a little tall, there’s not a lot that can be done, since the seats are an integral part of the structure, and can’t be moved. A person would have to be very tall, however, before they wouldn’t fit at all.

The Jabiru engine fired up quickly. The model we were flying was the J230-SP (the SP designation differentiates the factory built S-LSA from the experimental amateur-built version). The primary difference between the J230 and the J250 is the wing. The wing on the 230 is longer and has a higher aspect ratio. You can differentiate between the two aircraft by the winglets on the 230. The 230 wing takes a little longer to get off the ground, but reportedly handles better once it is off the ground. Pete openly questions offering both wing designs, and they are trying to transition most customers to the longer wing. The 230 does have winglets built into the wing, which I personally think is attractive.

Lined up with the runway, the acceleration was smooth and adequate, and in comfortably less than 1000 feet, we were airborne. This isn’t a LSA that feels like a kite. It has a solid, real airplane feel. Rate of climb was about 500 fpm. Visibility is typical high-wing, which is to say good — except above the wing. Flight characteristics are rock solid. You point the airplane where you want it to go, and it stays there. You put it in a turn, and it stays there. Rudder is required to make proper turns, but once the turn is initiated, it’s like any other aircraft. Elevator seems lighter than ailerons, but control harmony is excellent. It would take a few hours to get accustomed to the feel as well as the odd control stick configuration, but once mastered there is no doubt that this would be a sweet airplane to fly.

One selling point of the Jabiru is its speed. Yes, all LSAs have a speed limitation of 120 knots, but that is the maximum speed they can go at maximum continuous power. Since most LSAs are powered by Rotax engines that produce that maximum continuous power at an RPM not normally used in cruise flight, most of them don’t bump the 120 knot barrier in real life. The Jabiru engine, on the other hand, is designed to run at 2850 max continuous rpm, which is a higher percentage power setting than the Rotax. In our flight, we saw 118 knots TAS at 3500 feet, which is pretty close to the limit. Fuel consumption at that setting is five gallons per hour. With 36 gallons in the tanks, you can cover a lot of ground at that speed.

Back in the pattern, approach speeds are very low. We came down final at 65 knots. The plane does have a tendency to float, but any airplane will do that if speed isn’t nailed. With its slow stall speed, it can’t help but have good landing manners.

Basically, the Jabiru could be described as a 150 on steroids. In the LSA market, it’s in a class by itself. It has the operating cost of a 150 with a useful load and speed close to a 172. All of this in an airplane that can be equipped with every option offered, including an autopilot and XM weather, for a little over $133,000. And you don’t need a medical too fly it. (Ed. Note: Consult a qualified aviation medical examiner or an aviation attorney if you have any questions about medical requirements in the LSA category.)

In addition to the larger 230/250 models, Jabiru also produces the J170. The 170 has the same wing as the 230, but with a slightly smaller cabin and baggage area. Even with it being smaller than its siblings, it’s still larger than many other high wing LSA offerings. Whereas the 230/250 versions were derived from the four-place aircraft, the 170 is an enlarged version of a smaller Jabiru design. The 170 uses the smaller 85 hp Jabiru engine, and is about 20 knots slower than its larger siblings. Of course, it’s also about $20,000 less, and burns about 25% less fuel. It’s still a very capable cross country machine that will carry a decent load of baggage. With 36 gallons of fuel and a 4 gph fuel burn, you could stay aloft for seven hours or more. That’s probably longer than most pilots would want to sit anyway.

Speaking of options, every Jabiru that goes out the door is equipped with the glass panel option. Glass is an option, but everyone chooses it. Jabiru uses an EFIS system from Grand Rapids Technologies. Most aircraft go out the door with two of these units in the panel. Integrated into the unit is a built-in GPS receiver. Both units are programmable to show a great variety of information. What is lacking in the system is a backup if power should fail. There is one alternator and one battery, so if the alternator fails and you don’t catch it, things are going to go dark. The only backup instrument is an airspeed indicator.

Of course, this is a VFR airplane, so in theory that shouldn’t be a problem, but if a person did stumble into clouds and everything went south, it would take a lot of skill to keep the sunny side up. The key is obviously to stay out of the clouds.

So far, there have been just 100 aircraft delivered in the U.S. in the last two years. However, the design has close to 1700 units flying worldwide. The Jabiru makes up a good portion of the training fleet in Australia and South Africa. That means this a very mature design with most of the bugs already worked out, and while the Jabiru design may not be that prevalent in the U.S. marketplace yet, it does have a company behind it that has a strong worldwide presence. While some LSA designs are probably not going to survive, the global nature as well as the diversification of Jabiru in selling engines as well as completed aircraft makes it likely that it’s going to be around for a long time. With one airplane a week being turned out at Shelbyville, you’re going to see more and more of these airplanes at an airport near you.

I’ve been able to fly several different LSA aircraft in the last year or so, and I’ll admit that there are times when I’d like to have something cheap and simple to operate that I could pull out on a cool fall evening or summer morning and fly for nothing but the pure joy of flying. There are a couple of the planes I’ve flown that I’ve lusted over that could fit that bill, and the Jabiru is certainly one of them. The difference in the Jabiru is that if I did need to do something with an airplane other than play with it, I could.

But for now, I’m stuck with steam gauges and four seats and 13 gph. But some day, I may be one of those people who find it harder to get a medical, and if that happens, you can bet the Jabiru will be one of the planes I’ll be looking at.