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I just got back from the Jabiru maintenance class in Shelbyville. Nick and Jason did a great job and all who attended came away with a better understanding of what it takes to care for a Jabiru engine. There was a representative from Jabiru Australia in attendance to "see how it was done" and shortly Jason will be traveling to Australia to help them put on a similar training event. Jabiru wants to train some certified mechanics in their first class to help expand the number of techs in the country who can service their products.
About a month ago I took my Gen2 3300 to Shelbyville and dropped it off for some upgrades. I bought it 18 years ago and have yet to fly my XL so I thought it was a good idea to do some of the critical upgrades such as replacing the low-bleed lifters, installing the double valve-spring kit, replacing the flywheel bolts, washers, gear and plate, new distributor shafts and rotors, replace the carb float and float needle, and a few more items. I'm feeling pretty confident that the engine will be ready when I am.
Before I hang the 3300 back on the airframe I plan to convert the alternator stator to series from parallel, replace the fuel pump with one with a threaded hose connector and remotely mount the fuel pressure sender as there have been a number of failures due to vibration.
Some of you may think I'm going overboard with the engine work but in 50 years I've experienced three partial engine failures in three different airplanes and don't believe the engine is a place to skimp on maintenance. I'd like to keep my record of never scratching an airplane :-)
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Attended that class a couple of years ago. It was great. I only live 30 minutes away. I don't think you're going overboard at all.
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