Last week, saw the Jabiru engine coming out and being put in a car for its nip up to Yorkshire for ground checking

We still haven’t located a definitive reason for the inflight engine stop … and this trip was to strip down key parts to check for such.

It is always good to spend a day with Kevin Hyam … at Beverley. His knowledge is vast and is a genuinely nice guy to work with. He had another chap working with him rebuilding a classic engine from every bolt upwards .. a positive work of art as the pictures show.

We mounted my Jabiru engine ‘nose down’ ..having had it supprted and strapped down in the back bucket seats of the BMW .. didnt quite fit in the boot ! ..We stripped a range of items down to check … all looked fine .. Kevin also removed the fuel pump and completely refurbished it adding a slightly softer spring to aid pressure. His neat tool for setting the diaphragm placement was really clever.

Valves and gaps were checked along with the entire ignition circuit

Some of he new parts that Kevin is engineering are really smart, not relying on the vagaries of foreign imports and bringing more and more under U.K. abased design, manufacturer and fit can only bode well !

Returning home with a ‘fit’ engine was a relief .. this engine is now destined for my sons rebuild Jabiru project

A few days later, I return to Priory to begin labelling all the existing firewall forward wires ahead of decoupling the mass.

The engine mount is a useful platform on which to locate and mount and secure cable runs. These all have to be clipped, marked and moved to clear the way for the engine cradle removal.

I still marvel at the relatively small 4 bolts that hold the engine mount in place. I seem to remember that the size of these bolts EACH have a sheer strength of something like 14,000kg !

The bolts duly removed … and after nearly 7 years since they were originally fitted …and the old frame simply slides off.

The new (Rotax) mount looks pretty sturdy compared to the old mount and slips easily into position.. ready to take the new shiny Rotax 912 ULS any day 😊

The Light Aviation Authority have come back really quickly … thank you Ben….

So today, about 10 minutes after Sam and I removed the Jabiru 2200 fro the airframe for ground checking, I received an email from the LAA approving all the stress analysis from The Light Aircraft Company (TLAC) and my approval to install and begin the full process of putting the Rotax 912 ULS 100hp engine in ❤️👍

The engine was ordered and we await delivery schedule.

I hadn’t realised it comes without a silencer so will need to plan that when I get it mounted and some idea of the cowl fitting.

Off to Yorkshire tomorrow to get the Jabiru ground checked and run out checks.. this is going to go into my sons Jabiru aircraft rebuild.

Re checked the packing list and laid out at Priory Farm ready

The fittings are all cut to size and a ‘soft fit’ showed that it would be a little tricky to fit in situ. This meant a bit of judicial readiness mouting some of the brackets to the tank and bringing it all into position

Releasing existing bolts .. some of which were blind behind riveted cross members was a little tight but not impossible

The neat rubber mounts are an exact fit so great accuracy in production

Yesterday, Friday 6th of September, I got a call from Paul at the factory … your first parts set are ready !

September the 6th is a special day in my Ranger terms … being the day (in 2016) that I first opened the throttle on all these assembled parts and (after 3 test hops) took her into the air for the first time.

In one of the TV interviews Immediatly after the flight I said I had a few months of tweaking and adjusting post test but, in reality, she flew almost perfectly from that first second.

Wind forward to today, and I now have a few boxes of goodies to check through. The pick regime at TLAC is ultra professional of course, and every little nut, bolt, rivet, washer, bracket is uniquely labelled and bagged .. so I cross check and get it all loaded into the car.

This pack should see almost all the major parts I am changing, upgrading in place including the new engine mount.

The 2 new tanks are a work of art, thanks to Chris at TLAC for such a professional job👍

Planning a sequence will help maintain levels of access as I progress the engine swap. So plan sequence is :

• Start to fit new top tank … this will almost double the range
• This work will not impeded anything relating to the engine
• The top tank comes with the necessary plumbing to fit the valve, tubing and fittings for the dump tank operation – turn a key and gravity moves fuel from top to lower tank
• The next piece is to cut a section out of the starboard trailing edge elevator
• This will allow a hinged trim tab to be made up and fitted and will involve a new sub rib being made
• As the tail is all covered I’m hoping to put a new termination section on the existing Oratex which should save a full top and bottom recover
• The operating cable for this is a Throttle style lever but mounted on the starboard side of the cockpit (throttle being port side) and a piano wire stiff cable run .. so we won’t get bends
• I’m leaving the new main tank out as this provides full access to the rear of the firewall which will defiantly be handy as the new engine gets plumbed in !

As I left the factory it was good to have a proper chat with James (Milne) my ever helpful inspector. I walked through the steps above and he reminded me to keep the LAA worksheet going ..as it’s easy to forget the myriad of things you are doing. I’ve already got this underway so will very much be a multi sheet document by the time we are finished.

I also asked if I can do all this work back at Priory which is so much easier as all my tools and hoists are there .. James said he will pop down a couple of times as things progress and will, in good time, approve for test flying when things are looking good.

Exciting times …

Rotax 912 ULS order going in imminently