World's best most practical LSA for the $ anywhere

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2015 Jabiru 230D. I don't know why these aren't leading the market in LSA sales. They are running a 10 yr anniversary sale, brand new $119,900 and it offers a lot of utility. The only question I see is that it uses a six cylinder Jabiru engine that if they ever go belly up (small company) getting parts would be the thing-- lot to be said for the Rotax lineup in company financial stability and backing. Who knows if there is a Rotax conversion STC.

But here's an edge this airplane has over other LSA's: capability. It is the *exact* airframe and engine as their Jabiru 430 four seater that grosses @ 1540 lbs. They simply removed the rear seat leaving a huge cargo area and penciled the gross down to 1340. The 430 can only be had in kit form however.

The base avionics pkg now includes Garmin Touch screen glass panel with a two axis auto pilot and full night VFR lighting inside and out w/ strobes. Plus, it's a good looking airplane, resembling a "baby" Cessna 177 Cardinal with struts added.
 
Jabitu USA had been smart to follow the government's plan for America, that is don't manufacture anything here, just do minor assembly and configuration.

I've flown the plane and it's a great value for the price. The fiberglass work is nothing less than first class.

Early versions required that you fly them with the rudder but current versions fly straight and true with little need to chase the nose with the rudder, even on take off. You can fly with your hands in your lap on a calm day and the autopilot upgrade is worth the price if you travel.

And don't worry about the engine. There will always be parts and service no matter if they go "belly up" or not.
 
I believe the auto pilot is now std equipment for 2015, even at the reduced msrp. I know of no other LSA offering an ap as standard.
 
Seems like a good price . I gave up on motorcycle riding and Horse riding because I realized that after all these years I was just to stupid to be riding motorcycles and Horses. I know airplanes would be over the limit . You can't fall off of a plane. But a plane can fall from the sky. I try to avoid the falling part these days. I enjoy aircraft though.
 
Maybe a strong dollar will help, but no one to my knowledge has been able to bring a complete ready to fly real airplane to market at under $100k.

I dont need night lighting or an autopilot for the LSA mission of day VFR fun, not real transportation, but a full glass panel is pretty much mandatory for a new airplane in today's marketplace.

There is also the matter of local factory support. Even Rotax, the volume leader in LSA engines by far, does not have an overhaul center in the USA, just one in Canada to serve the Americas. The owner of a factory built LSA is not likely to do his own engine work, and professional A&P's are only familiar with Continental/Lycoming.
 
They do the work in Tennessee on the engines I believe. The main thing against these airplanes beyond questionable future support, is the staggering rate of depreciation if you buy new. Of course, the new buyer always say's they'll keep it forever. Then Higher-Faster-Farther disease eventually overcomes them and they're looking at used Mooney's.....
 
I'm not a fan of LSA. While they get you flying, they have nearly no practical use. Light aircraft are universally impractical, and light sport aircraft are at the extreme end of that.

Rotax engines are rather expensive, and claims of superior fuel efficiency are incorrect. In fact, the latest, FADEC injected rotax is just now able to match lycoming BSFC numbers. The carbureted ones fall short. Don't confuse low fuel burn with efficiency. At those low numbers, very little power is being produced. Also, lycoming has light sport engines with similar power to weight and better overall cost per hour, including a superior 2400 hour TBO.

I love the glass cockpits as much as anyone, but they are not necessary for light sport aircraft. In fact, they add significant expense.

My ancient Cessna cardinal RG has a conventional cockpit and it is more than sufficient. I use a yoke mounted iPad mini for GPS, with a backup handheld and, of course, my phone as a last resort.

My suggestion is to avoid the light sport category and go with a conventional aircraft.

And before we start talking about the fuel savings of light sport, consider that I can achieve 25mpg at 5 gallons per hour and 125mph. I do this regularly. A rotax powered light sport can do only marginally better in the fuel burn, but not in mpg. So savings may be 1 gallon per hour. It might take a lifetime to see meaningful savings.
 
Cujet, I agree. I know we've had the discussion before and all your points are both valid and better knowledge backed than mine can likely ever be. I respect the experience that you've gained from your employment in and hobby practice of general aviation.

The main reason I beat the talk about the particular Jabiro 230D model is it's identicality (crafted that word just now) to the "four place" version the 430D. They pulled the back seat and penciled the specs to restrict it to LSA compliance. The cargo area opened up by the rear seat removal coupled with the fact that it's pre-LSA pencil gross weight was 1540 lb lends along with a true 120kt cruise @ 5.5 gph using a traditional direct drive air cooled six cyl engine layout lends a lot of practicality, albeit you'd be flying in violation by loading it to it's real gross weight of 1540. Great turf/dirt strip performance as well.

There have been engine mechanical failures, but a service bulletin in 2014 directing replacement with updated cylinder through bolts appears to take care of the root cause of some of the failures.

The 230D appears to stand alone among LSA's with this pencil-gelded weight hauling capacity as well as solid performance operating out of unimproved strips. The Aussies fly these things basically as bush planes a lot of the time.
 
Well, I do like the idea of a direct drive 6 cylinder. Hard to beat that combo for practical reasons.

For example, on six cylinder engines, the failure of one cylinder might result in a significant power loss, but still enough power to fly. At least at sea level. The failure of one cylinder on a 4 cylinder will likely result in not enough power to remain aloft, or outright failure. A broken valve on a 4 cyl will often cause complete loss of power.
 
I'm currently in Strausberg, Germany, where there is a Jabiru engine overhaul facility. So, I visited and learned a bit about that cool little engine.

It appears it lasts 2000 hours between overhauls and the folks there were telling me that it is a very trouble free engine.

I found it interesting that the cylinders are held in place by through studs, in much the same manner as Lycoming engines are. With only 4 of the 16 cylinder mounting studs being short studs (these are generally the problematic ones on Lycomings)

The cylinder to head interface does not use a head gasket, but rather, a "lapped surface" much like older volkswagen air cooled engines. Where the technician simply puts valve grinding compound on the cylinder and rotates it in the head, until a perfect fit is accomplished. They never leak from what the guys say.

Also, these pics are of an engine that is going through it's 2000 hour overhaul. The cylinders and pistons looked great. The crankshaft had some visible wear on it, but was clearly re-usable with a minor re-grind.

Thought I'd share some pics.

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Thanks for that Cujet, that is great info !! There was in fact an issue with those shorter through bolts and they issued a service bulletin in 2014 mandating installation of improved ones. Side effect of that engine in an LSA is a rather pleasing exhaust note instead of the higher pitch sound of the Rotax mills.
 
$119,900 for an LSA? For half that, you can get real airplane.


LSA is good for one reason: people who can't get a medical can fly.

Cessna should put the 152 back into production and certify it as LSA. It would require minimal engineering and a company as big as Textron/Cessna could offer it for 80-90k in a very basic, day VFR configuration.
 
They tried it: Ce162, and built it in China to cut costs. It flopped and they killed it within years.

Tell me, what defines a Real Airplane? Where are the lines drawn? When I had a lowly Cherokee 140 (160hp stc) I once was told a "Real Airplane" was a 200hp+ complex.

Higher, Faster, Farther is a never ending game. While a first airplane is usually thought of to be something from the sub-200hp field and non-complex, someone once told me "Just get a high performance retract now and save the trading up, because that's what you'd eventually end up with someday anyhow..." An entertaining proposition until you shop for insurance.
 
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