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RV-12 N124GR (Jabiru Powered)

txaviator

Well Known Member
A few years ago, on the first weekend of building:

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Firewall Forward / Finish Kit

The great news is that my Jabiru engine, along with the firewall forward kit, showed up today. Finally! Wow, this is a great-looking engine (IMHO) :D Takes quite awhile to get here from Australia, but it appears it's worth the wait. Haven't really dug into the huge FWF box yet, but upon initial inspection, I am really digging this longer cowl, polished spinner, etc. Pics of that to follow, upon unpacking. Prop is arriving tomorrow, direct from Sensenich.

It's kind of hard to believe I needed to sell a perfectly great C-140 in order to purchase these two boxes of parts....

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Congratulations!!

Be sure to bring your bird to SNF next year. There's an emerging pattern with Grand Champion LSAs--Lately they've all been Jabiru-powered RV-12s. :D:D
 
Congratulations!!

Be sure to bring your bird to SNF next year. There's an emerging pattern with Grand Champion LSAs--Lately they've all been Jabiru-powered RV-12s. :D:D

That's the ultimate goal, Katie. I'd love to be able to make it down there.

BTW, a lot of my initial interest in the Jabiru powerplant began when you were posting a lot of data / photos of Pete's plane. Thanks!
 
Gary,

The photo below is of the RV-12 Jabiru 2200 prototype by Pete Krotje. I took delivery of the aircraft on Monday and plan to take my wife up tomorrow for her first ride.

Regards,

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Gary,

The photo below is of the RV-12 Jabiru 2200 prototype by Pete Krotje. I took delivery of the aircraft on Monday and plan to take my wife up tomorrow for her first ride.

Regards,

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That's fantastic, Tom! That's the plane that swayed me over to the Jabiru. I'm using the exact same engine as you are. How do you like the performance so far? I know you probably haven't flown it a whole lot yet, but your overall thoughts?

**I LOVE the longer cowling and the polished spinner!

Take care,
 
Powdercoat!

The benefits of having a buddy in the powdercoating business. Take him a raw steel engine mount and a steel flap handle at 10:00 in the morning. Pick it up three hours later, pay $20, and have some nice pieces with a durable finish!

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Jabuiru engine is finally mated to the airframe. I sure love the looks and simplicity of this engine!

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Everything is bigger in Texas....

I know, complete overkill....but I wanted two 10" Dynon Skyviews! Since Van's doesn't offer the panel sections blank, without being punched, time to build my own new section for the co-pilot side:

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Needed for room

I'll have throttle, cabin heat, carb heat, and choke cables. The factory center section got a little tight on room, so I decided to add a small sub-panel to the lower center section. It allows for more width, and now all four controls fit with room to spare:

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Parts Hanger for Drying?

Too many bugs in the shop this time of year, so a fresh coat of paint needs protection. Where to hang the parts? In the shop office of course, on the elk antlers! Notice I also have a life-sized bear mount offering protection too:
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Panel Mock-Up

Added a 'Winter' slip indicator in the middle section, and moved the autopilot disconnect to the same upper section. This is kind of what it will look like with both 10" Skyviews:

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Dual 10" Skyviews are Installed:

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* Special thanks to Walt Aronow (local Dynon dealer) @ EXP Aircraft for the hookup on the second Skyview display!
 
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Somewhere I heard that Van's did not do dual Dynons in the -12 because of electrical capacity with the Rotax. Is there something different with the Jab that provides the extra capacity?
 
Somewhere I heard that Van's did not do dual Dynons in the -12 because of electrical capacity with the Rotax. Is there something different with the Jab that provides the extra capacity?

Yes.

The Jabiru has a 20-amp continuous voltage output (plenty of extra voltage for the second display). I believe that when Van's did their calculations on the Rotax, they used a figure of only 18-amps nominal, for that engine. Most of these electrical calculations are figured by assuming all electronics are on at the same time. Then you use a ratio to see if you are up against the maximum recommended power draw.
 
AOA / Pitot Stuff

Since I won't have the pitot tube coming through the spinner, I need to re-route that line. I bought a combo Dynon Pitot / AOA unit that will mount out under the wing. In addition, I had to route the TINY Tygon R-3603 AOA tubing, from all the way back at the ADAHRS box, down through the fuselage, and figure out a way to get it outboard to the wing. The Tygon tubing (mentioned in the AOA thread using basketball inflation needles) is very small, and very soft. I routed it around the bulkheads in the tailcone, then needed to find a way to continue up front. The center tunnel is packed, so I ruled that out. I fished a string through the lightening holes under the pilot seat, from the tailcone to the front. I then fished it over to the wing root area where the electrical connectors come through. Since the Tygon tubing is so soft, I wanted to give it some kind of a buffer from wearing through. I used my pull string and fished a larger piece of lightweight tubing from front to back. This will be the protective tubing, and the Tygon AOA tubing will run inside of the larger tubing. I used a shop vac and then sucked a tiny piece of kite string through the larger protective tube. With this string, I pulled the Tygon tubing from front to back. Here's a photo of the protective sleeve with the kite string coming through it:
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My wings will never be taken on and off, except for when it's at the paint shop. I bought some small barb fittings, and have installed them in the plate that surrounds the left wing electrical connection. The Tygon tube from the ADAHRS box will be terminated to one of the fittings on this plate, and the pitot tube (again from the ADAHRS box) will connect to the other fitting. Then two tubes from the Dynon pitot tube/AOA will be run through the wing and to the inboard edge. Those tubes will connect to the other ends of my barb fittings. (photos later today). When the wings are pulled for paint, its two simple barb fittings to hook everything back up real easily.
 
My wings will never be taken on and off, except for when it's at the paint shop. I bought some small barb fittings, and have installed them in the plate that surrounds the left wing electrical connection. The Tygon tube from the ADAHRS box will be terminated to one of the fittings on this plate, and the pitot tube (again from the ADAHRS box) will connect to the other fitting. Then two tubes from the Dynon pitot tube/AOA will be run through the wing and to the inboard edge. Those tubes will connect to the other ends of my barb fittings. (photos later today). When the wings are pulled for paint, its two simple barb fittings to hook everything back up real easily.

Gary,

There are required inspection, wear, and lubrication items listed in Van's MM that can only be done with the wings removed.

Regards,
Tom
 
Gary,

There are required inspection, wear, and lubrication items listed in Van's MM that can only be done with the wings removed.

Regards,
Tom

True! I should have been more clear that except for required inspections, I'll never remove them. In other words, I'm never trailering it anywhere. Plus I have stabilator tips, so I might go to jail for being over width on a trailer :)
 
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