What happened to William J. Champion & Dodgie Stockmar?
	Click Photos The Facts: Above: William Jerry (Champ) Champion with his newly completed Stoddard Hamilton Glastar Kit Plane serial number 5043. A easy to fly & great performing experimental aircraft. Plane won the Outstanding Workmanship Award at Evergreen, Alabama's 1998 SERFI fly in. From a kit plane manufacturer known for quality kits. On May 19, 1999 @ 3:33 PM This Glastar kit #5043 Killed two men. Elevator trim was found in full down position. Elevator trim was capable of 3 times the necessary amount of down trim (18 deg. instead of 5.5 deg.). The factory after the fact now recommends limiting the down trim travel. see service bulletin "GSB46". Control yoke (Elevator/Aileron) Unit at the point of cable connection to the elevator was broken off. A service bulletin "GSB7" Had been sent to select serial numbered kit owners stating that the Control Yoke Unit was to be returned to the factory for modification. Several kit owners were not notified of the defect and their kit serial numbers were not included on the Index of Glastar service bulletins. Including serial number 5043. Information about the missing kit serial numbers from GSB7 and the index was told to us in our home during a visit to inspect the wreckage by: Bob Gavinsky & Ted Setzer (Presidents: Stoddard Hamilton). Also it was stated that the Glastar Prototype which has flown hundreds of interested customers at many major airshows everywhere, as of : May, 19 1999 was continually flying without the Mandatory service update and had not failed. Note: Service bulletin gsb7 was dated 1/15/96. Purchase/Release Agreement: "Purchaser agrees to RELEASE Stoddard-Hamilton, its owners, employees, agents, and subcontractors, from liability for any bodily injury or property damage arising from the construction, maintenance, or options (including liability arising from design or manufacture, or from failure to warn of possible dangerous conditions), and purchaser agrees to INDEMNIFY Stoddard-Hamilton for any such claim from third party". My Interests: To save lives, Protect yourself ! Kit planes are an affordable way to get a new airplane and usually with greater performance than most certified aircraft. A great project for family and friends as well as 2- 3 years of every nite supper table discussions. Note: Even a seemingly reliable kit manufacturer sometimes makes mistakes that could end in fatal results. In our case, Failure to inform us of a defective control yoke assembly that may have been the main reason two men are dead and a fantastic airplane is destroyed. We went to every extreme to have a New, Reliable, and Safe aircraft to last a lifetime. That lifetime only lasted 70 hours. Send a message to your kit manufacturer. Let all builders know of a possible problem in detail! Some one getting left out and put at risk for whatever reason is INEXCUSABLE. Jeff Champion Caution! Crash Photo, Very Graphic right: Champ and his Grandson in flight at Sun-n-Fun. May they fly forever! Link To: NTSB Accident Report Thank you for visiting this page. The loss of a Father and a Dear Friend has been hard to deal with not to mention the impact it has had on hundreds of other Friends and Family members who knew and loved them. The memorial shown to the left Stands today, Flying high in Remembrance and Respect Lemuel Stockmar (Dodgie) One of the greatest pilots that ever lived. Flew at age 9, First solo flight age 11. He flew for over 50 years acquiring over 25,000 hours. Flight Instructor, Aircraft Sales, & a Great Friend to Everyone. Most common statement from those who knew him. "If I had to fly in a crippled airplane, I would rather be with Dodgie than anyone else on the planet." William J. Champion (Champ) Raised in Childersburg, Alabama. Was a City of Atlanta Fireman , Paramedic, Crash Rescue at Atlanta Airport. Creator of Champ's Clock Shop, The world 's largest and finest selection of clocks. Inventer, Clock Lover, Pilot, Adventurer, Father, Friend, & Husband of 37 years. Champ and Dodgie died together in an unflyable crippled aircraft. If it could have been flown Dodgie could have done it. Upside down , sideways, you name it. Crash site Location: 33.794712 -84.520987 http://www.panoramio.com/photo/86352568 This page is based on facts and personal opinion It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be NICE webmaster

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