The Jabiru 230 is a beautiful little airplane. It comes from Australia and was originaly designed as a four seater. It is certified as a SLSA with a gross of 1,320 lbs and a cruise of 120 kts. Having the certified weight below its real capacity is actually an advantage in two ways. First, you can ACTUALLY fly at 1,320 lbs and second, with the rear two seats removed there is a gang of room for stuff!
The plane has three doors and nice wide cockpit. It uses a center stick and it is a snap to start the 3300 (120hp). There are two minor drawbacks. The brakes are a small lever located in front of the stick. So you have to rest the stick on your forearm to work the brakes. A bit awkward. Fortunately the plane handles nicely on the ground and I didn't really need the brakes in the grass. Pavement might be a different story. With 20 degrees flap set, the Jabiru jumps right off the ground with two people in it. As a matter of fact, there is so much torque with the three bladed prop that I actually had to use rudder (on a nose wheel) to keep it tracking straight.
The wind was real heavy that day and I had concerns about going up. Yup, it was bumpy and the roll rate was a little slow, but otherwise the plane handled nicely! Especially as it is a LSA! I won't say the landing was easy, but even with the wind it was manageable.
With a burn rate of about 5 gph, this is an economical plane. Okay, my second little drawback. It takes a bit of space (and power in the grass) to turn it around while taxing. No big deal. Just something you need to plan for.
The price tag starts at $93K and you get a lot besides the good looks. I would love to fly this plane on a calm day. I bet it handles like a real sweetheart. I would feel real comfortable taking this plane in and out of small strips.
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