Superior Air Parts, Inc. is a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

-owned manufacturer of aviation piston engine replacement parts, headquartered in

Coppell, Texas Coppell ( ) is a city in the northwest corner of Dallas County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is a suburb of Dallas and a bedroom community in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its population was 42,983 at the 2020 census. A small area in the ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The company has been owned by

Superior Aviation Beijing Superior Aviation Beijing is a Chinese aircraft manufacturer. Superior was initially formed as Qingdao Haili Helicopter Co and Qingdao Brantly Investment Group, a private venture that purchased the Brantly International rights and tooling to ...

since 2010.

History

Superior Air Parts started as a manufacturer of valve guides in 1967. The company branched out into FAA/PMA approved parts for

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

aircraft. The company manufactures replacement parts for Lycoming and

Continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (al ...

aircraft engine An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines, although a few have been rocket powered and in recent years many ...

s. The cylinder assemblies use newer cylinder head alloys and fully hardened cylinder liners. Most of the company's production is outsourced, with Superior ensuring that the parts meet their engineering and testing standards. The company was bought by the German engine manufacturer

Thielert Technify Motors GmbH is an aircraft Diesel engine manufacturer based in Sankt Egidien, Germany. In July 2013, Chinese state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) acquired the aircraft Diesel engine designs and manufacturing assets ...

, in 2006. Thielert was seeking a parts distribution network in North America, as part of its effort to sell its

Centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...

diesel aircraft engine series. Thielert already had a business relationship with Superior, as it had been engaged in the production of Superior's after-market engine cylinders. In 2008, Superior Air Parts' parent company Thielert declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

, Superior itself filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

bankruptcy on 31 December 2008 and laid off many of its staff. In August 2010, Superior was sold to

for

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

7M. Superior Aviation Beijing is 60% owned by Superior Aviation Beijing Chairman Cheng Shenzong and 40% by

Beijing E-Town Beijing E-Town is an economic development agency of the Beijing municipal government that traces its origins to 1994 when the Beijing government chartered an entity to help foster high tech manufacturing in Beijing. E-Town supports high-tech ...

, an economic development agency of Beijing's municipal government. Tim Archer, the former marketing and sales VP for Superior became the new CEO for the US subsidiary and oversaw the establishment of a piston engine production facility in Beijing. At

AirVenture EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, ...

2012 CEO Tim Archer announced that the company was recovering from its bankruptcy and that the Chinese investment had been critical in that turn around. The company was at that time able to ship almost 90% of parts in its catalog and was training Chinese technicians in Vantage engine production for the Asian market. In March 2019 the

Superior Air Parts XP-400 The Superior Air Parts XP-400 is an aircraft engine, designed and produced by Superior Air Parts of Coppell, Texas, United States for use in homebuilt aircraft.Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', pag ...

and

Superior Air Parts XP-382 The Superior Air Parts XP-382 is an aircraft engine, designed and produced by Superior Air Parts of Coppell, Texas, United States for use in homebuilt aircraft. The company is owned by the Chinese company Superior Aviation Beijing, which is 60% ...

engines were withdrawn from service and all customer engines were subject to a mandatory, immediate buy-back by the company to remove them from service. The company made this decision based on

detonation Detonation () is a type of combustion involving a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations propagate supersonically through shock waves with ...

problems found in some XP-400 engines that could not be resolved. Due to parts commonality, the decision was made to buy-back the XP-382 engines as well. In February 2020, Superior settled a lawsuit regarding the 2016 fatal crash of a

Van's Aircraft RV-8A The Van's RV-8 is a tandem two-seat, single-engine, low-wing homebuilt aircraft sold in kit form by Van's Aircraft. The RV-8 is equipped with conventional landing gear, while the RV-8A version features tricycle landing gear. The design is ...

for

5M. The crash was due to the failure of the crankshaft in the installed XP-400 engine. In the accident investigation the

NTSB The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...

determined that the crankshaft failed due to

metal fatigue In materials science, fatigue is the initiation and propagation of cracks in a material due to cyclic loading. Once a fatigue crack has initiated, it grows a small amount with each loading cycle, typically producing striations on some parts o ...

. The crankshaft had 20 hours of flight time on it at the time of failure.

Products

The company has developed a series of non-

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

engines for

light-sport aircraft A light-sport aircraft (LSA), or light sport aircraft, is a fairly new category of small, lightweight aircraft that are simple to fly. LSAs tend to be heavier and more sophisticated than ultralight (aka "microlight") aircraft, but LSA restrictio ...

and

homebuilt aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

, including the XP-320, XP-360, XP-382 and the XP-400. A line of diesel engines is under development, including the Gemini Diesel 100 and Gemini Diesel 125.Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', pages 262-263. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. The XP-360 was developed into a certified engine design, the Superior O-360, marketed as the Vantage and certified in 2004.

Engines

References

External links

*
New diesel engine
to the

Junkers Jumo 205 The Jumo 205 aircraft engine was the most famous of a series of aircraft diesel engines produced by Junkers. The Jumo 204 first entered service in 1932. Later engines of this type comprised the experimental Jumo 206 and Jumo 208, with the Jumo ...

Video
{{Superior Air Parts Aircraft engine manufacturers of the United States Companies based in Coppell, Texas