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Excellent Experience with Champion!

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  • Excellent Experience with Champion!

    My good friend, mentor, Taylorcraft owner and IA L-2 Gary just had a truly first class experience with the western USA representative of Champion spark plugs. He asked me to write a letter of thanks to the company praising the rep, and also asked me to put a post here reminding everyone that Champion still honors its roots in "little airplane" aviation.

    I'll make a long story short (take that look of shock off your face)

    It seems that Gary bought a new set of expensive Iridium Champion spark plugs for his L-2, and then found cracked insulators after only 50 hours. He sent them back to the western US representative, Dick Johnson. Mr. Johnson immediately identified the problem as being improper technique by the spark plug service shop which had cleaned the plugs for Gary (too much blasting pressure and applied for too long). Dick's professionalism and sincere concern for the situation was very confidence inspiring... it was clear to Gary that one lonely Taylorcraft owner is still a valued customer to Champion, even in the days of fleet operators and large "flight department" product orders. The company made him feel like his business and his problem with four cracked plugs was important. Dick sent out a set of new plugs to get Gary back in the air, a very generous gesture. This sort of concern for the little guy should not go un-noticed.
    Taylorcraft : Making Better Aviators for 75 Years... and Counting

    Bill Berle
    TF#693

    http://www.ezflaphandle.com
    http://www.grantstar.net
    N26451 (1940 BL(C)-65) 1988-90
    N47DN (Auster Autocrat) 1992-93
    N96121 (1946 BC-12D-85) 1998-99
    N29544 (1940 BL(C)-85) 2005-08

  • #2
    Re: Excellent Experience with Champion!

    Bill - if you have an e-mail for the gentleman, I'll send him a note telling him I saw this comment on the T-craft forum - Mike
    or a snail-mail addy. I like encouraging the good guys
    Mike Horowitz
    Falls Church, Va
    BC-12D, N5188M
    TF - 14954

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Excellent Experience with Champion!

      You don't hear this kind of story much any more. For the cost of 4 plugs and the time invested to determine the problem for a little guy Champion may have gotten a whole forum of friends. Doesn't Champion make the A-65 short plug that lets us get rid of those ugly plug blisters? I think I'll need 4 for the 41 (and 4 more for the 45 in the future).
      Anybody know the correct part number for the short plugs?
      Hank

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Excellent Experience with Champion!

        Mike, the actual helpful guy's name is Dick Johnson. His superior (who the note I wrote is going to) is named Alex Feil. Champion is now part of Federal-Mogul, which is the most big-brother sounding name I've ever heard of for a corporation So if you want to write a note that does the most good possible way up in the boardroom, I guess that you should allow the entire company to bask in the compliment, and say something like:

        'considering that your Champion division was encouraged to treat this one individual customer so well, I will assume that Federal-Mogul has made it a company-wide policy of their divisions treating individual customers well, and so I would look to your other divisions as well as Champion for my aviation and automotive needs in the future...' (that's a lot of Maple syrup to pour on one paragraph, but you know how these corporate types are kind of jaded )

        Hank, I just removed my blisters and installed the short plugs using the "Ercoupe cups". You'll need to have a reasonably talented machinist cut off the existing threads and then put on new smaller threads to fit the ignition harness. OR, I'm sure you could have a harness made with slightly larger threads to fit the cups as-is. I used some old Champion M-40 J plugs I had left over from my days in F-1. That part number is no longer shown in the ACS catalog, but Champion probably has a direct equivalent part number somewhere.
        Taylorcraft : Making Better Aviators for 75 Years... and Counting

        Bill Berle
        TF#693

        http://www.ezflaphandle.com
        http://www.grantstar.net
        N26451 (1940 BL(C)-65) 1988-90
        N47DN (Auster Autocrat) 1992-93
        N96121 (1946 BC-12D-85) 1998-99
        N29544 (1940 BL(C)-85) 2005-08

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Excellent Experience with Champion!

          Ok Bill, this just sent to [email protected]:

          Dear Ms Remboulis -

          I am a pilot and owner of a Taylorcraft, a 1940's fabric and steel tube aircraft driven by a low horsepower Continental engine. I belong to an Internet forum of like owners and thought you'd like to hear a story that is circulating:

          "It seems that Gary bought a new set of expensive Iridium Champion spark plugs for his L-2, and then found cracked insulators after only 50 hours. He sent them back to the western US representative, Dick Johnson. Mr. Johnson immediately identified the problem as being improper technique by the spark plug service shop which had cleaned the plugs for Gary (too much blasting pressure and applied for too long). Dick's professionalism and sincere concern for the situation was very confidence inspiring... it was clear to Gary that one lonely Taylorcraft owner is still a valued customer to Champion, even in the days of fleet operators and large "flight department" product orders. The company made him feel like his business and his problem with four cracked plugs was important. Dick sent out a set of new plugs to get Gary back in the air, a very generous gesture. This sort of concern for the little guy should not go un-noticed. "

          I'm impressed that Champion is still helpful to us "little guys". Would you please send our "thanks" to Dick and his supervisor, Alex Feil.

          Warmest regards, Mike Horowitz
          Mike Horowitz
          Falls Church, Va
          BC-12D, N5188M
          TF - 14954

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Excellent Experience with Champion!

            The unshielded plug is M41E and is still available. The shorter shielded plug is the REM37BY.
            John
            New Yoke hub covers
            www.skyportservices.net

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Excellent Experience with Champion!

              Originally posted by NY86 View Post
              The unshielded plug is M41E and is still available. The shorter shielded plug is the REM37BY.
              A. Will the shorter plug work on a cowl with out bumps? And B. if they will, are REM37BY still available. My 41 has no cowl bumps but at some point in the future I will need to put a handheld radio in my bird and worry about noise. I read about the shorter plug but no one has put up the actual plug number or its availablity. Sorry to sound so dumb here but so little time, so many questions! LOL
              "I'm from the FAA and we're not happy, until your not happy."

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Excellent Experience with Champion!

                I have tried my iCom in a plane without shielded plugs and it seems to work great when plugged into an external antenna that is on the "roof" just aft of the seat. A friend had a hand held that made some noise but he had shielded plugs on the bottom and unshielded on top. When he got static and wanted to talk he switched to the lower plugs only. No more static!
                I think I will go with the Aerocoupe Cups. I posted drawings some time back for a home made cup that I have been told works well. Made from small metal cans you make up at home.
                Hank

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Excellent Experience with Champion!

                  Originally posted by Hank Jarrett View Post
                  I think I will go with the Aerocoupe Cups. I posted drawings some time back for a home made cup that I have been told works well. Made from small metal cans you make up at home.
                  Hank
                  Hank would you know what thread that was on? I just did a search with no luck on the drawings. If given the time I can duplicate anything and keeping my cowl "hump free" is one thing I would like to do.
                  Larry
                  "I'm from the FAA and we're not happy, until your not happy."

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Excellent Experience with Champion!

                    Originally posted by Spotter626 View Post
                    A. Will the shorter plug work on a cowl with out bumps? And B. if they will, are REM37BY still available. My 41 has no cowl bumps but at some point in the future I will need to put a handheld radio in my bird and worry about noise. I read about the shorter plug but no one has put up the actual plug number or its availablity. Sorry to sound so dumb here but so little time, so many questions! LOL
                    I purchased the small plugs, hoping to put them in the front cylinders and avoid bumps, but there still wasn't room for the harness to bend. Someone mentioned there are variations in how the a/c was put together so on some planes you might have more clearance than on others - Mike
                    Mike Horowitz
                    Falls Church, Va
                    BC-12D, N5188M
                    TF - 14954

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Excellent Experience with Champion!

                      Originally posted by Hank Jarrett View Post
                      Made from small metal cans you make up at home.
                      Hank

                      See attached - MIke
                      Attached Files
                      Mike Horowitz
                      Falls Church, Va
                      BC-12D, N5188M
                      TF - 14954

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Excellent Experience with Champion!

                        That was the article I started with. There were a couple of problems with that design that are easy to address. First I added in a small cross hole along the edge of the cap (like from the 12 o’clock position to the 3 o’clock position) that you can run a cotter key through to hold the cap on (it WILL pop off!). Second, you MUST make sure there is enough clearance between the top of the plug and the cap. If it is too close the spark will jump from the plug lead to the cap and the engine will run REALLY rough! I don't know if there will be problems with the washer bottom replacing the copper washer under the plug over time. It is the same way the Aerocoup cups work and there have been no complaints about them since the 30s or 40s but I think my cups are aluminum, not steel. The Aerocoup cups are getting REALLY old and if someone wanted to make these things up in a batch I'm sure there are a lot of people who would want them. I also think they could be made from thinner stock and silver soldered together. The shielding doesn't come from the thickness, it comes from the grounding and keeping the cooling holes small. I wonder if those small tomatoe paste cans would work?
                        Hank

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Excellent Experience with Champion!

                          watch the short 37 plug , it is a wee bit cold for the A-65 or any small Continental. just my humble opinion. We had problems on a Chief here. I like bumps they give me another aiming device along with the cowl hinge and lots of tubes.
                          Taylorcraft Foundation, Inc
                          Forrest A Barber 330-495-5447
                          TF#1
                          www.BarberAircraft.com
                          [email protected]

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