Jabiru Aircraft J230-SP
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Jabiru J230 is the two-seat light-sport version of Jabiru's four-seat J430, an Australian composite high-wing with a huge baggage bay where the rear seats would be, 816 lb empty and 1,320 lb gross on Jabiru's own 120 hp six-cylinder 3300, with published figures of 120 knots maximum, a 52 mph stall, 1,300 fpm and 940 miles; the J230-SP is factory-built and the J230-D a kit.
The J230 is the light-sport aircraft with a cabin and baggage volume no other LSA matches, and a 115-knot cruise on about 6 gallons an hour, and the thing a buyer must understand is the engine: the Jabiru 3300 is light and smooth but has a long record of cylinder-head cooling and through-bolt problems, factory bulletins and a strict warm-up and leaning discipline, and a J230 whose engine history is incomplete or whose cooling baffles have been improvised is the one to walk away from. The composite airframe is light and stiff and needs inspection for finish cracks rather than corrosion. An SP is an S-LSA maintained to Jabiru's manual by an A&P or LSA repairman; a D is a kit and may be amateur-built or E-LSA with owner maintenance. Parts come from Australia through the US distributor.
Variants of the Jabiru J230 / J250
- J230-SP · 78 active · this page
- J250-SP · 55 active
Also consider
TAILFAX SCORE
Partial: 23.6 out of 30 (safety not scored, too few records)
Among 1–2 seat pistons (321 models)
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What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | — |
| Engine | Jabiru 3300 (120 hp) |
| Horsepower | 120 hp |
| Fuel | — |
| Certification basis | LSA |
| Production start | — |
| Production end | — |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise (75 % power) | — |
|---|---|
| Range (75 %, standard fuel, 30-min reserve) | 817 nm |
| Service ceiling | — |
| Climb rate | 1,300 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 45 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 504 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,320 lb |
| Empty weight | 816 lb |
| Usable fuel | — |
| Fuel burn at cruise | — |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $78,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $104,900 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 84 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 78 |
| Median year built | 2011 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 5 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 64.1 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 64.1 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 27 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 34.62 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 78 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 78 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 78 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 9.5 of 103 |
| Support | 5 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 9.1 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | Partial: 23.6 out of 30 (safety not scored, too few records)6 |
- Accident record: class median 36.69 · 321 models in class.
- Severity: class median 13.04.
- Access: class median 1,000.
- Support: class median 77.5.
- Liquidity: class median 20.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 8 · scores Sep 30