I’ve not written about why I have sourced and fitted another Jabiru 2200 but I had a slight issue with my previous … it dropped a valve seat and then had an unexplained issue with a piston which decided to dismantle itself

Slight problem was we were 2 up, Will was in his second only time in the rear (as part of my training to get him to soloing) and we were 1,100’ N of the field

The wind was between 5-8 Southerly and so an immediate turn back .. with almost zero power but a still running engine was initiated ..throttling back to try to analyse the issue

We both calmly discussed the issue … Will initially saying ‘Your aircraft’ … having already made the turn for home within seconds of the first rough running

I had Wills work bag on my lap in the front .. so space was at a premium and I certainly couldn’t hold the stick and throttle and fly with the bag … so elected to hand back to Will and govern throttle and course whilst he flew

We ran through the guage readings as we inexorably descended, now downwind, back towards an impossible to reach threshold.

Having exhausted options as to what was wrong … fuel, mags, switches, nothing … I advised to tighten the harness straps right up as we would probably not make the field

A minute or so passed and almost impossibly the very shallow float angle and supreme lift ..and it looked like we had a great chance of just making the field

Will held off to perform an almost perfect 3 pointer … and I advised to kill the mags … the ‘plane rolled to a silent stop a few feet into the upwind end of the runway we had just departed from

Engine was inspected as it cooled and removed that afternoon to drive up to Yorkshire for tests

As the rebuild ..new valve seat, new piston, liner, rings, valve, push rod and Conrod was going to take a while I sourced the spare .. all the way from Shetland

Will started his PPL just after we moved back to the U.K. and rattled through it … far quicker than I did all those years ago when juggling a small family .. a new (very old 1642) house and commuting from Suffolk to London every day on a motorbike, train and walk … the reverse each evening.

If the weather was good at the weekend .. I was lucky … if not … I’d just moan and do stuff around the house ticking off a never ending list of things that you have to do to old houses !

Fast forward … and back in the U.K. and one of the ‘babies’ now WhatsApp’s me at 5pm when he leaves work and states …”Meet you at the strip for circuits then ?”

I remember that, just before I went away for the weekend (a trial 3 day campervan excursion to sunny – and wet – Shropshire) I’d completed an oil change after just 4.5 hours of flying with the new engine… and left the cowls off (deliberately) to remind me to check levels and leaks before the next flight.

Nipped up to Priory Farm strip and checked levels .. all good to go .. so popped the cowls on and opened the hangar doors. I’m really fortunate here in that I’m either right behind the doors or next one in … and both are easy to pull out (compared to the Cirrus, PA32 and surprisingly heavy Cub I used to have to shift in Jersey before wheeling mine out)

Tonight, I’m pole position … so open the doors and she is already facing 01 … runway heading 01 😊 there’s a smidgen of a tailwind but, even with full fuel and a not so light pax load ..we should be off by half way

No sign of son, so walk around check and strap in … then startup to get her warm as it’s cooling now as the sun sets towards Old Buckenham

The new gauges really do show up in this light and all CHTs are reading sensible values around 14 and spring to life as the engine bursts into life first turn of the prop .. those 2 inline batteries put in 7 years ago really don’t miss a beat.

Will turns up smack on the oil temp reaching 50’ ..how does he do it ! … comes over and clambers in .. the slightly non standard way …goes to ease himself in but then pushes backward with his bum a shade too early … crack … the ply seat back cracks slightly but the 2 stiffener bars (running vertically) are fine .. just break the original glue joint that has lasted 7 years !

We shut down to check status and it’s not going anywhere with braces and his back supported on coving ..and it’s an easy fix which we both agreed could be done in situ .. probably using the super strong glue vs the epoxy I used originally

The slight downwind departure is off at about 50% of the way down the grass strip into pretty still cool air … handing over control to Will .. that’s my flying for the evening … we climb fully laden and, in these conditions, it ain’t sparkling but we circle up to around 1,100’ then idle large circle back to pick up an approach

The first approach is ok but a bit rapid as I don’t want him to get caught in any sink over the hangars … the second is way way too high but I leave him to realise .. which he does … so he sticks in a load of slide slip to try to recover to a more reasonable approach path … we duly arrive over the house, trees and hangar at around 73 KTS ..about 84 mph in old money

I suggest we make this one a fly by … so he goes for full burn up of the field (at about 10′) and pull up and away to the left (Priory has a preferred dog leg departure to avoid farms and houses)

He settles the next downwind way better … turns base and eases the the throttle back ..the height is much better .. again a slight dog leg to avoid some noise sensitive houses .. nice side slip to get her onto final and a lovely greaser

We pull away .. firewalling the throttle is giving us about 3,290 .. a smidgen short of the listed 3,300 the Jabiru manual lists .. i have my colour RPM guages going from Green to Yellow at 2,900 (to visually remind me if I leave it too fast in the crhise) and then Yellow to Red at 3,100

We make this the last landing and pull around in a large easy teardrop back to land on the Southerly direction which means we roll out at the end at the hangar doors for a shutdown… its pretty dusky now as the engine ticks down .. lift the tail and pull her in in about 20 seconds

This ‘training’ lark is quite exhausting but lovely when you get results

Back safe and warm in the hangar … seat back will be glued and clamped tomorrow …

Engine refit and rewire all complete and signed off today and first test flight

I don’t often fly in just shorts ..but it was around 30 degrees ..very close and hot … engine was already warm from a ground run .. so oil temp was already up to 50 in no time …

10 mins from startup .. to taxi out ..take off .. a couple of orbits and back to land ..admittedly a little too fast .. (you can see her skip up slightly) ..but first biplane landing in some months

Great news is that the new colour gauge is reading perfectly

I’ve configured it so that , instead of split 2 x EGT and 2 x CHT.. I’ve got all 4 x CHT on this gauge reading vertically .. much easier to glance

The old MGL multi gauge now has 4 x EGT reading concurrently

I think this was from around the 2017 Jersey air Display … the pre practice for the display was on the Wednesday and it was pretty awful weather … low cloud and rain persisted most of the morning .. so getting up in the Sherwood to do my approval runs was going to be fun..

Eventually got airborne and managed to get about 5 minutes of 250’ passes in front of the Squadron Leader checking and approving displays ahead of the Thursday display

Pulled out of the display box as the base came down to around 600’ ..but areas were starting to look like 500’ which would make it below IMC limits

Just as I completed the downwind leg I was told to hold at Corbiere (lighthouse) .. at least the runway threshold was (mostly) visible from there … if not .. the beach was an easy ‘base leg’ visual

Then .. the reason for the hold became obvious … “Red 1…clear to land .. runway 08 … wet wet wet … “ … oh dear .. I was going to probably be no 11 to land !

As it was pretty claggy all around the CI zone the Reds were coming in in 2’s and 3’s anyway …. So … mid group .. I was cleared to roll out .. having now got pretty wet in the open cockpit .. to land after the first wave

‘Nipped’ to final … mustering my full 60 or so against the wind and drizzle …and flared out to touch part way down the runway for a quick turn off vs a long slow (wet) taxy

The first wave of Reds were taxying back up from the end to park around at Gama aviation on the South side of the airfield and one of them said … “is that a Ranger I see just taxying in?” … Wow … a Red actually not only talking to me BUT recognises the type …

It turned out to be the one and only Mike Ling .. probably one of the most prolific Red pilots in terms of tours

It’s traditional the evening after the flying display on the Thursday to have a meeting of support teams, groups and pilots at the Governors house in town .. and Mike was very kind to have a long chat about the home built and say just how much the whole team are interested in all types of aviation