I am getting ready to spend a couple hundred bucks to buy a replacement Bendix for #33A1010. The mystical engine druids of the internet reckon I should order a Honda part (31207-ZE3-003) that was copied for Jabiru, rather than the Jab pattern part. Any thoughts on how well or ill-advised this might be?
Answering my own post. Just got back from the excellent two day Jabiru engine course in Shelbyville TN (http://www.flylightning.net). Yes, use the Honda Bendix and stop pushing your start button over and over like playing a slot machine. Easy to swap. BTW, I cannot say enough about the course and the people who run it.
I probably crossed paths with you during the break on Saturday. I was in the shop while picking up my Waiex after the crankshaft replacement. I need to take that class someday.
I ogled your plane with some of the other students. Beautiful Waiex!
Those folks at Arion put on a great course and I would have a lot of faith in any work they did. Competent, honest, good people. Shelbyville is in the middle of nowhere, but it just adds to the charm.
I think I recall you having the original cabled brakes. Are you happy with them?
This reduces my Jabiru envy a little bit. Not that I haven’t had my own AeroVee issues! So does this class teach you to rebuild your 3300? If I bought an old tired one is that an option? A good thing about the AeroVee is it’s easy to source the parts and do the work yourself. Generally I buy from Sonex.
I would say that if you have already rebuilt an engine, you could confidently rebuild a Jab after this class. The engine is dead simple and they point out the idiosyncrasies in the course. They gloss over some details like pushing and pulling wrist pins that they assume you already know. If a rookie was a little adventurous, they would probably still be just fine with a few phone calls to Arion. The guys clearly believe in the engine and are ready to support.
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How easy is it to get parts? Any parts pricing out there?
The original cable brakes work well enough. I’ve never needed a lot of stopping power. My only annoyance is the shaking during braking because it’s impossible to get perfect roundness in the assembly, even with the machined drum option. It took me 22 years to get hydraulic brakes on my Kolb so there is still a chance they make it on the Waiex someday.
I will add that the guys at Arion got every nut, bolt, cable, shim, and fitting back in place exactly how I had it. I could hardly believe it, actually. The test flying after the crank was replaced was minimal as there were no discrepancies. They fixed my stator at no charge and upgraded the ignition rotors for a minimal fee (there was no charge for the crank replacement as well).
Other than the down time the experience was very positive and I’d have no problem going with Jabiru again. If I can get to 1000 hours like I did with my old engine with no problems, I’ll be very happy.
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Ease of getting parts is relative. I am going to sit on my hands for a month or two in order to get a nose gear strut from Sonex. If two months is the standard, then Jab parts are easy to get in most instances. Pinch points right now appear to be rotors and Bing carbs. Not Bing carb parts, just Bing CV carb bodies. But there are a loads of the carbs floating around because they performed great on BMW bikes for decades. If you have diaphragms you can rebuilt forever.
That thing of waiting month(s) for a steel pipe with a fork on the end is driving me nuts.