SonexBuilders.net

Hi everyone, I've long been a fan of Sonex aircraft for their simplicity and mission statement. Finally looking at buying a used one. It has a Jabiru engine. On one hand it seems like it might be a great powerplant and on the other it may have some maintenance / reliability concerns. Any body have expereince or recommendations or the facts on the engines? If I had to do a power plant swap from the Jabiru engine to say an aerovee or turbo aerovee how big of a project is that? Appreciate any input...thanks PJ

Very timely question. There’s a podcast coming up on engine swaps. It was recorded last night.

As for Jabiru engines - search the forum posts a bit and also the Yahoo groups. The answer largely depends on the exact engine model and year.

Overall, you will find lots of opinions on various models of engines, but hard factual data can sometimes be elusive.

One mans opinion.

great...thanks

I have a jabiru 3300 and like it but it is not with out issues here and there. I don't think ANY experimental engine will be without issues entirely. Vw based engines might have more parts available as opposed to older 2200 motors. Vw motors will also most likely need to be rebuilt before a jabiru but will cost way less to do so. I would not be afraid of either one but you must enter with the knowledge that you will be tinkering on them. That said same-ish HP on both vw and jabiru 2200 I may be more tempted to go the vw route. My 3300 is 120 hp so that is a huge step up in hp and makes enough difference to go that way. As far as swapping engines a new mount as a minimum and probably considerable wiring would need redoing. Honestly unless you are making a very large upgrade in power I probably would not swap from a jabiru 2200 to a similar hp vw. Do some searching on the 2200 and look at the track record between engine generations. The 3300 early was good, 2nd gen not so much, 3rd better and 4th (new) seems good but no long term use yet
Mark.---these are only opinions

As with everything on an aircraft the engine choice is all about compromise. That said I think the 2200 Jab ticks the most boxes, of course I am biased as I have one.
The early hydraulic lifter engine had a bad reputation, Jabiru's website explains what needs to be done. I have the Bing carburettor on mine, I would not change that. The Jab is a much smoother engine than the VW. The main downside to the 2.2 Jab is, because of the engines light weight care has to be taken with baggage.
I certainly would not take a Jab engine out to be replaced with a VW.

I should get to look at the plane today and will get the engine s/n and see where it originated in history. Is it pretty easy to maintain and operate? It appears straight forward but does it require frequent work between the 25 hr inspections?

Saw plane, structurally looks very sound although the canopy system is a bit flemsy looking. Plane hasn' flown in a couple years and I doubt it had been started often. I think it would be a project plane...do the wings come off easily? There another one with a 3300 nearby that might be a better starting point.

That flimsy canopy system is standard Sonex. Wings removable fairly easily but best with 2 people. If you remove them for transport you need to make some sort of frame to support them.
Corby 202's advice is good. He also has a useful addition to his Jab 2200, a prop extension to get the weight a little further forward; well worth considering as the 2200 engines are very light and it's easy to have a tail heavy aircraft.

Peter