Korff Parts

Abstract: Does anyone have an alternate contact/phone/email for someone else at Korff that might help with a parts order?

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Subject: Parts from Korff?
From: "bradmt200" <bradmt200@
Date: 2/27/07 8:32 PM
To: Taifun17E@yahoogroups.com

Hi,

I am the relatively new owner of s/n 1030 and have it at Grob in Ohio getting some work done. In case folks on this board don't know, Grob is shutting down their repair shop in Ohio for good in a few weeks.

Mike Shade and I have been having difficulty getting feedback from Korff and have heard that Cornelia has been out of the office.

Does anyone have an alternate contact/phone/email for someone else at Korff that might help with a parts order?

Thanks,
Matt

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Subject: RE: [Taifun17E] Parts from Korff?
From: Dave Piercy <drpiercy@>
Date: 2/28/07 2:17 AM
To: <taifun17e@yahoogroups.com>

Hi Matt,

Do you know this address?

ltb.korff-d@yahoo.com

Incidentally, just for interest, what airframe parts are required?

Dave
S.No. 1017

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Subject: Re: Parts from Korff?
From: "bradmt200" <bradmt200@>
Date: 2/28/07 1:55 PM
To: Taifun17E@yahoogroups.com

Thanks Dave.

I do have that email address that you provided, but I appreciate the response.

I was able to track down a friend of a friend that speaks fluent German and she called Korff and they said only Cornelia can help and said that she should be back in the office on Monday.

The parts I am trying to get are the following:

-The spherical bearings that the wing pins fit into. Some of my bearings are a little worn.

-Rod Ends for the Landing Gear

-New engine mounting bracket. I had the Limbach engine rebuilt and the back casing the swap rebuilt engine that I got back was newer than what I had and this requires a different bracket.

Matt

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Subject: Ordering parts from Korff
From: "Finbar Sheehy" <finbarsheehy@yahoo.invalid>
Date: 3/10/07 9:58 AM
To: Taifun17E@yahoogroups.com

Since those of us in the US are now on our own to order spare parts for Taifuns, I thought I'd follow up with some information on the subject.

The Taifun is, of course, out of production and the manufacturer, Valentin, no longer exists. Korff is the owner of the Taifun design and supports the aircraft with spare parts etc. You can reach them by email at ltb.korff-d@rKYrRfMAwxumTbb8bx8XoNvIFvQtJL8UFyb2v_ItB4aIl3KHFfbwn2rhB83stHPPUbHCkqHrclN2.yahoo.invalid . Their web site is www.korff.com/page7.html and you can phone them at 011-49-9371-99145.
The contact person is Cornelia Korff - apparently she is the only person there who deals with Taifuns.

Some things to bear in mind when contacting Korff for parts:

- The Taifun is not Korff's main business (they primarily make insulation), and is not a big business for them (or anyone).
- They don't have many spare parts in inventory, so many (most) parts have to be made to order.
- They have to get the parts made at machine shops that have the necessary approvals to manufacture aircraft parts.
- Since Taifun parts get ordered one at a time, and not in batches of 500, the machine shops tend not to put Taifun orders at the top of their priority list. We're just not their biggest or best customers.
- Once Korff has the parts, they have to take them to customs to fill out all the necessary bureaucratic paperwork. For obvious reasons they prefer to group shipments in lots rather than doing them one at a time. Remember, they have their primary business to run!
- Although this can cause lengthy delays, getting angry with Korff isn't a good idea because it won't help, there isn't much they can do about most of the delays, and why bite the hand that helps us?

Please recognize that delays may be inevitable, and be prepared to be patient. On the other hand, if you find yourself waiting there's no harm in politely pinging Cornelia once in a while to remind her that you (and your money) are standing by.

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Subject: Contacting Korff - all US owners
From: "Finbar Sheehy" <finbarsheehy@
Date: 3/22/07 8:11 PM
To: Taifun17E@yahoogroups.com

To all US Taifun owners,

As I think you all know by now, we need a new plan for working with Korff, now that Mike Shade is no longer doing so.

Henk Dumont, who runs www.powerglidertaifun.de, knows Cornelia and Rainer Korff well (Cornelia is the primary Taifun person). He says they're eager to help, but they get more than a little overwhelmed at times, and emails in English are not that easy for them to deal with. Phone calls in German are easier for them, but unfortunately not so easy for most of us (time zone and language issues).

Henk is happy to act as a go-between for us. He suggests the following:

1. If you need to order parts for your Taifun, then contact either me or Henk directly (dkfdi@HaUSMWUIl-W0lzPDC7CeRw3tqg3FvXveHh1kkc1XKv1n_-4RXsd0vPM8n06gpgzn5-W0TIq_u-v21BvSG0MRe2N9GQ.yahoo.invalid). Henk will contact
Cornelia, who is accustomed to talking with him, in German. There may still be delays in getting parts, depending on circumstances, but Henk understands that we'd at least like to know what the situation is, and with him on the phone it's more likely we'll get a rapid response than by email in English.

2. If you have a question that does not involve ordering parts, then post the question on this discussion group (or email it to me), and also pass it along to Henk (or ask me to do so). Between the two groups we may get an answer, but if not, Henk can again handle it by phone with Cornelia. He suggests that we should not contact Cornelia with these questions, as he'd rather make sure that we make the best use of her time, to make sure that parts get shipped and new questions get answered, rather than have her read emails in English to answer questions she's answered before.

Henk will get back to either you or me (up to him, really). Generally he responds through his webmaster, who handles his English translations (although Henk reads English very well), so expect that round trip may not happen the same day!

Henk is offering this service out of goodwill toward fellow Taifun owners. Therefore, PLEASE do him a favor: visit www.powerglidertaifun.de and sign his guest book. If you have photos, stories, trip diaries etc., you can contribute, he'd love to get
those. He doesn't get much in the way of contributions from us on this side of the Atlantic, and he would very much like to.

Hoping this helps to keep the blue side up!

- Finbar

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Subject: Grob Systems shutting down
From: "Finbar Sheehy" <finbarsheehy@
Date: 2/28/07 3:17 AM
To: Taifun17E@yahoogroups.com

As Matt posted, Grob Systems is shutting down. The following appeared in the SSA electronic newsletter this morning:

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After more than 24 years of service to the aviation community, the Aircraft Division of Grob Systems, Inc., in Bluffton, Ohio is ceasing operations. While the new owners of Grob Aerospace in Germany have expressed a commitment to continue supporting the entire line of Grob aircraft, they have unfortunately decided they no longer desire a fixed presence in the U.S.

My long-time associate, George Stechschulte, and I greatly appreciate all that Dr. Burkhart Grob has done for us and the sport of soaring as a whole, and leave here with a wealth of wonderful friends and experiences. Our thanks go out to all of you in the soaring community for the opportunity to serve you.

Sincerely,

Micheal Shade, Grob Systems, Inc. Bluffton, OH.

-----------------------------

I have sent an email to Mike asking him for additional information, and will pass along whatever I hear.

- Finbar

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Subject: Re: Grob Systems shutting down
From: "Finbar Sheehy" <finbarsheehy@>
Date: 2/28/07 9:16 PM
To: Taifun17E@yahoogroups.com

I exchanged emails with Mike Shade today.

In brief, for now those of us in the US are on our own to communicate directly with Korff and Limbach.

Mike's shop is closed and in the process of liquidating inventory. He will not be operating independently of Grob Systems and on a personal level he has not yet decided if he wants to stay active in glider
maintenance.

As several people have noted, Korff has been very slow to respond to requests lately and Mike has remarked on this problem since late last year.

In a separate post today, Matt reported that he contacted Korff and learned that only Cornelia deals with Taifun parts and she is out of the office until next week.

I will keep you advised if/as I learn more about what's happening at Korff.

I for one am sorry to lose Mike's expertise. However, these things happen. I'm sure I speak for everyone in wishing him the best of luck in life after Grob.