The Murphy Builders Site

Keith, I am currently flying a 1957 7EC Champ that has the 90 hp engine. I
bought it with the money I had set aside for the engine for the Elite that
I'm building, figuring it would appreciate quicker than the 1% the bank was
willing to pay.

All Champs require a spar AD inspection. If the Champ you are considering is
flying now, it will have had the inspection. For Champs 90 hp and less, this
is a one time inspection unless there is a subsequent ground loop or other
wing damaging incident.

Champs have much better visibility than Cubs or T-Crafts and they are easier
to fly. They do require a lot of rudder work, but that's good training if
you're flying tailwheel after that.

I fly my Champ every year from Boston to Nova Scotia with one stop along the
way. It's comfortable for 3 1/2 hr. flights. I love it. I'm now saving up for
the engine for my Elite, because I'll never sell this Champ.

Ted Hauri


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Hi Ted !

Sorry ! I just didn't think about other countries having
different inspection rules !!

Up here in the Great White North, the wooden spars require
a FULL visual inspection ANNUALLY, including opening up the fabric
on top of the wing. This is an expensive and risky business !!
The old wood spars dry out at the inboard ends, and crack right
out under the plywood doubler plates where it's hard to see ...
Of couse, as you mentioned, they also crack at the outboard strut
pickups if they are groundlooped hard or inverted.

This is the pained voice of experience - I sold my Super
Chief (11-CC) because it cost me over $17,000 to keep it airworthy
over the last 3 years I had it !!! BOTH wing spars had cracks,
and had to be partially replaced, and, of course, that also meant
new fabric, etc., etc. ...... It took 6 months to sell, and
I got $9,500 for it ! At that point, I vowed never to own another
CERTIFIED airplane again !! We already had the Rebel, and it
proved to be a MUCH better airplane than anything I'd ever flown.

Don't get me wrong - I LOVE the Champ. Spent many enjoyable
hours Air-Knocking around southern Ontario. It is a FAR better
airplane than the famous J-3 Cub - more room, better handling,
and less drafty ! I was along to pick up the first Sky-Trac 90 hp.
Champ for Brampton Flying Club, from the dealer in Buttonville,
in 1959 - what luxury !! It had comfortable seats, a larger
panel, ALL that POWER, an electric starter, and a heater that worked !!
A BIG improvement over the 3 65 hp. Champs we were running -
we bought another Sky-Trac the next year. They were a LOT of money then
- about $6,700, versus about $1,300 for the 65 hp. Champs !!! ;-^) :-)

.....bobp

----------------------------------orig.----------------------------------
At 07:01 PM 10/8/03 +0000, you wrote:

Keith, I am currently flying a 1957 7EC Champ that has the 90 hp engine. I
bought it with the money I had set aside for the engine for the Elite that
I'm building, figuring it would appreciate quicker than the 1% the bank was
willing to pay.

All Champs require a spar AD inspection. If the Champ you are considering is
flying now, it will have had the inspection. For Champs 90 hp and less, this
is a one time inspection unless there is a subsequent ground loop or other
wing damaging incident.

Champs have much better visibility than Cubs or T-Crafts and they are easier
to fly. They do require a lot of rudder work, but that's good training if
you're flying tailwheel after that.

I fly my Champ every year from Boston to Nova Scotia with one stop along the
way. It's comfortable for 3 1/2 hr. flights. I love it. I'm now saving up for
the engine for my Elite, because I'll never sell this Champ.

Ted Hauri


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