Jabiru LSA

The Jabiru LSA is a light aircraft developed in Australia in the early 1980s and marketed in the early 1990s. Jabiru also sold many variants of the LSA design to meet with different Australian and international certification requirements, including complete, factory-built aircraft and kits for amateur construction. The LSA itself was designed to meet with Australian ultralight regulations under the then-current CAO 101.55 for factory-built ultralights.

Design
The LSA is a strut-braced, high-wing monoplane of conventional design. The pilot and a single passenger sit side-by-side in a fully enclosed cabin. It is powered by a piston engine in the nose driving a tractor-mounted propeller. The LSA itself and most of its variants have fixed, tricycle undercarriage, although one variant, the SP-T, had tailwheel undercarriage. The wings are detachable for transportation and storage.

Construction is of GFRP throughout, except for metal wing struts and engine mounts.

Development
Design work on the LSA in 1987. Early the following year, the Avtech company was founded to develop it, and construction of the first prototype began. In 1989, the Jabiru Aircraft company was founded, and the first of two prototypes flew. CAO 101.55 certification was gained on 1 October 1991, and at the time, US primary sports plane and Canadian TP 1014E certification was expected by 1995.

The LSA was originally tested and certified with the 48 kW Rotax 582 two-cylinder, two-stroke engine. In 1990, a third prototype, registration VH-LIP) was tested with the 45 kW IAME KFM 112M engine instead. The first 21 production aircraft were all delivered with this engine. However, manufacturer IAME discontinued production of this engine, leading Jabiru to start designing and manufacturing their own engines for their aircraft.

Variants

 * LSA
 * Original, factory-built ultralight version


 * ST-3
 * Identical to the LSA but manufactured to meet requirements for general registration. First produced 1994.


 * SK
 * Kit version of the LSA. Jabiru supplied everything except paint, upholstery, and radio. First flown 1995, and approvals for New Zealand, South Korea, the UK, and the USA were obtained in 1996.


 * UL
 * Version of the SK developed to meet European microlight regulations, which required a maximum takeoff weight of 450 kg and stall speed of 65 kph. Jabiru achieved this by adding 1.372 m to the SK's wingspan and 0.610 m to the length of its tail boom. Its ventral fin was scaled down, and its flaps were extended by 1.830 m. It is powered by a 60 kW Jabiru 2200 engine and has a cruise speed of 185 km/h


 * Calypso
 * Version of the UL only marketed in Canada, the UK, and the US, available with either a 4-cylinder of 6-cylinder engine.


 * SP
 * Version developed for export to countries whose aviation authorities required a 39 kn stall speed, including Canada, Chile, and South Africa. This was achieved by combining the standard-size wings of the SK with the longer fuselage of the UL. Also marketed in the US, it is powered by a 80 kW Jabiru 3300 engine and has a cruise speed of 213 km/h


 * SP-T
 * Tail-wheel version of the SP. The SP-T had its main undercarriage moved forward, and was equipped with a larger rudder and toe brakes for differential braking. The changed undercarriage improved the aircraft's ability to operate from rough airfields.


 * J120
 * Factory-built version of the SP intended as a low-cost personal aircraft.

Operators
Other than private owners, several aero clubs were early buyers of the certificated ST version, including the Townsville Aero Club (which bought the very first ST), the North Queensland Aero Club, and the Royal Aero Club of Western Australia. Southern Skies Aviation was an early flight training school customer.