My experience with Cactus Aviation
I was very excited last year about 2 new planes I had for the 2007 season. A 3.3 Yak55SP and a Pitts Python from Comp-Arf. I waited a few months for DA to come out with their 170 for my new planes. I then heard it would be Xmas before they would be available. So I decided I would give 3W a try again. I see that many have had decent results and I figured with my expertise in building and tuning that I would be able to keep them running. I called the 2 distributors and Bobby at Cactus gave me the best price. I bought 2 170CS engines and after 2 months of delays they were shipped. I was in the middle of my season so it took me a month before we could start on the Pitts Python.
I completed the plane after consulting with many of the 3W experts. I installed the ignition on standoffs inside the fuse with air ducted in to cool it. I installed greeves pipes with the headers at 9.75 inches. When I first started the engine I couldn't get it to run on the factory settings. I turned the bottom end screw out to 3 turns to get it to idle. I called Bobby and he said it was no big deal. So off to the field I went. I flew it about 5 minutes and landed and allowed it to cool to room temp. I follwed that with several more flights with no 3D and gentle flying around. The engine seemed to run well but was very sluggish on the lower 1/2 of the stick. I contacted Manfred Greeves, he suggested making the headers 1 inch longer. That did the trick and really improved the low end response. I was off to the field again.
I, along with my friends proceeded to burn 3 more gallons for a total of 5 gallons in the plane. No problems and then while Jason Cohen was flying it the motor quit at quarter throttle after about 5-7 minutes of flying. I landed the plane and noticed the motor was a little loose. I thought it had closed off the throttle. I tightened the motor and took off again. It ran well and then after 5-7 minutes it shuts off again. upon landing it I noticed a drool of oil coming from the base gaskets. I had a flyin scheduled for 3 days later, so I called Cactus and explained the problem. Bobby overnighted a set of gaskets. He stated that some people were having problems with the 170's sucking base gaskets. I removed the engine and took it apart. sure enough both base gaskets were sucked in at the transfer ports. I cleaned off the old gaskets and installed the new ones with loctite 518. I also noticed when I had the cylinders off that the plugs looked perfect with a med tan color and minimal carbon.
I started the engine here at home and it sounded good with a nice reliable idle. I went to the flyin I had scheduled and put the Pitts together. Needless to say I was a little gun shy after the last 2 flights had resulted in dead stick landings. I took the plane up and it seemed to be running well. 6-8 minutes into the flight my confidence was coming back. I started a harrier roll about 30 feet off the deck. The engine shutoff at 3/8 throttle with no warning, just like I turned the ignition off. The plane was destroyed. The carb was ripped off the motor as it slid in.
I took out the fuel tank and inspected it. It was perfect. I inspected all the wiring for the ignition and once again it was perfect. I removed the engine and called Cactus.
Bobby acted shocked and said they had had some ignition problems on earlier units but not the later ones he instructed me to take the cover off the ignition and ck the build date. It was 4/04/07. He said to send it in and he would ck it out and replace both ignitions. I sent both motors and ignitions in for inspection. Bobby replaced the the carb studs and stated he ran both motors and that they ran perfectly. No mention of any tuning issues were mentioned at this time. I told him I felt 3W owed me a plane. He said He would contact them and see what he could do. I told him to hold onto the motors pending their decision. After 2 weeks of dodging me, I got a hold of Mr. Wilson. I told him I wanted a full credit for the 2 motors on my credit card. He said he didn't do buisness that way. He also stated that it was my fault the motor quit because the plugs were oil fouled from being too rich. I think he forgot that I had the cylinders off 8 Minutes of run time earlier and they were a perfect color. He then went on to say he couldn't refund my money on a used motor. I asked him to refund it on the unused motor that was still in the wrapper. He said he would call me back the next day. I asked why he couldn't make a decision now? I also stated I had been very patient and nice to this point. He stated he had a thick skin and didn't care if I got mad or not! Well now, He's not returning calls( sound familiar?) He also stated I could try to get a refund thru my credit card company because he knew I was past the time limit.
At this point I'm out a $3800 airframe and another couple hundred in headers and related parts along with the $3889 I paid for the motors. With hindsight being 20-20 I should have just waited for the Da 170. I've flown over 1000 flights a year for the past 6 years and I've never had this much trouble. I've also never had this kind of customer service or lack of.
On November first I was able to reestablish phone contact and found that Cactus had shipped the motors through UPS sometime around October 12th without informing me. The motors were shown to have been left on my porch. Well I never saw them! I called Cactus and Bobby stated they were insured and he would turn in a claim. I asked why they were left without a signature? He said they were insured and that a signature was required. I called UPS with the tracking number and asked who signed for the motors so that I could retreive them. I was told the motors were insured but that the box wasn't cked for signature required. I called Cactus again and asked why there wasn't a signature required. Bobby stated that it was a couple of dollars less if you didn't ck the box and that he put some signature required stickers on the box. The claim process was started and I obtained a police report as requested. I have made over 40 phone calls in the past 6 months keeping the claim open to try and get my money. I Demanded a refund when the motors were missing and UPS verified they were insured. A normal buisness would have complied, but not Cactus Aviation. Bobby stated the claim was between UPS and me. He stated as soon as UPS paid the claim I would recieve my refund.
Here we are 6 months later and I finally get a check from Bobby at Cactus. Only thing is it's $849 SHORT. He has put me off for 6 months waiting for UPS to pay the claim on the engines. They paid the claim on March 28th. Bobby then stated that his cpa told him to let the check from UPS clear before he sent me my check. Anybody ever seen a ck from UPS bounce? Now he is trying to charge a restocking fee on engines that he does not have. You might also notice the restock fee went from 15% to 20%. Also he stated I paid $3800, but you can see my receipt and charge slip for $3889. I talked to his wife April 25th who said he was driving the motorhome and couldn't talk to me, but that she would have him call me. Well you guessed it, no call, so I left a message stating he has till april 30th to pay the remainder or I will start legal precedings against him. I also sent him an e-mail stating the same.
I have now filed a claim with the Arizona Attorney General. The reason for this post is not to pressure Cactus Aviation into Paying because I know that's not how they do buisness. I posted it so everyone will know how they do buisness.
Mark Trent