This year, powered flight celebrates its first century. For better than half of that century, Al Marcucci of Savage Magneto Service has been a one-man ambassador for aviation.

The small business began in 1946 as Oakland Aircraft Accessory Shop, upstairs above Oakland Aircraft Engine Service. These companies supplied engines and service for Transocean Air Lines, the first airline to fly to Hawaii, the Philippines, and numerous other countries from Oakland, California.

In 1956, the company became Savage Magneto Service. Marcucci, hired in 1951, was there for the transformation and the rest, you might say, is history.

A visit to Savage Magneto is a visit to Marcucci, who is always there to greet his customers with a heartfelt welcome. I discovered this when I called to ask if he might have a magneto gasket. "Come on down, and I’ll give you one." Since I needed a gasket, and found his generosity disarmingly rare, I paid a visit. It was to be the first of many.

Located in Hayward, California, Marcucci’s shop is a museum of fascinating and eclectic aircraft parts. Rarely is it possible to be there for less than an hour. Marcucci is generous to the extreme and more than happy to share his knowledge. Generally, he disguises a lesson with the question, "Do you know what component this is?" As a new A&P, I find such questions a priceless part of my education. Yet, there is no personal pride on Marcucci’s part–only the desire to show a fascinating piece of machinery still cherished by an avid aviation buff.

There are more magneto types than I could dream of, and Marcucci works on them all. Eisemann, Bosch, Bendix, Scintilla, Rotax, and Vertax are but a few of the types brought back to perfect working order in Marcucci’s shop. His purpose is to fix them so well that he will not see you for awhile. It is impossible not to visit more often than a magneto repair would warrant.

"Come over here. I’ve got something to show you." Pointing out a pristine example of mechanical engineering, he will ask, "Do you know what that is, and what it came off of?" Occasionally, the design gives away the era. I give as much information as I can glean from his clues, and he continues with an invaluable lesson on history and the component.

I come in for a gasket, or a visit. I leave a better mechanic, every time.

Savage Magneto repairs and restores magnetos and ignition harnesses for Le Blond, Jacobs, Pratt & Whitney, Franklin, Allison, and Rolls-Royce/Merlin Engines, to name a few.

Components arrive in the shop from all over the world. Their conditions are varied–some pampered, some tired-but-reliable workhorses, and some are forlorn from years of neglect. They all leave the shop in the same condition–working perfectly, and, if necessary, restored.

A GE magneto is open on a table–a toy if there ever was one. Eighteen spark plugs create a dance of sparks any grown-up would love. However, Marcucci has a special surprise today.

We walk into the office. In hushed tones, he pulls out a box hidden from view. Carrying it to a display case, he carefully opens it and gently removes the cloth concealing an aviation treasure.

A 100-year-old component of tremendous beauty lies elegantly in its meager surroundings. It is a Mea magneto for the Wright Flyer! Made of brass, it still has the original factory finish of black lacquer. It is in perfect condition! A fellow named Ken Hyde is building a flying replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer that is to fly at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on the centennial of the Wright Brothers’ first flight on December 17 (see AM, October 2002, page 46). Hyde has asked Marcucci to overhaul this priceless treasure.

It is a mechanical masterpiece. The finest workmanship is apparent in each detail. Marcucci shows me how simple it is to time it to the engine. One cannot help but marvel at the brilliant design.

As we walk on to yet another box, Marcucci explains the difference between an OX-5 magneto and an XX-6. Like a coach wanting me to work just a bit harder, he challenges my thinking, forcing me to connect the components, and "see" them work in my mind. If the task is too difficult, a trip to the office will produce a schematic to display the theory visually.

Even though he is a humble and honorable man, Marcucci can’t help but enjoy when someone pays him a compliment. He recalls a phone call from a friend some time back.

"The guy was at Oshkosh, doing a symposium on Mustangs. A teacher was explaining to the crowd the components of the Mustang engine. ‘There are three types of magnetos for the Mustang engine,’ the teacher says. ‘One is the Northeast. The second is the Rotax. And the third is the Savage.’"

"Everyone starts looking around, wondering where they can get a ‘Savage’ magneto!" Marcucci smiles. His repair station stickers apparently have morphed themselves into a product line!

Half a century in the field has its rewards.–By Sherry Ditmer