Acquisition Of Superior Air Parts Benefits Both Companies 

During a ceremony at Superior's display tent at AirVenture 2006 this week, Frank Thielert, Managing Director of Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH, officially presented the first Centurion 1.7 equipped C-172 to American Flyers' President Clark McCormack and David Huser and Rick Freidinger, Vice-Presidents. The aircraft will be used for training at their Pompano Beach, FL facility.

When asked, McCormack said they have plans to convert their 55 aircraft fleet of C-172s "if things work out the way we hope."

Epic aviation of New Smyrna Beach, FL performed the conversion under the STC awarded to Thielert in January of 2005. Tony Perna of Epic says they stand ready to complete other customer conversions "immediately." The conversion takes "about two weeks" according to Thielert.

"In Europe we reach cost amortization after 670 hours of engine operation. In the US we expect that to remain below 1000 hours," said Thielert. Higher fuel prices in Europe speed along that amortization.

The Centurion 1.7 is an inline 4-cylinder, liquid-cooled diesel cycle engine displacing 1.7 liters (104 cubic inches) producing 135 hp.

Impact Of Acquisition Of Superior Air Parts

When Thielert AG announced earlier this year that they were acquiring Superior Air Parts, Frank Thielert had made a promise that there would be no changes in management at Superior.

Sure enough, that has not happened... but something has changed, according to Superior's Tim Archer -- and that is how fast Superior can bring product to market.

While there were fears within among some of Superior's suppliers, but the acquisition was not meant to eliminate them nor replace them by in-sourcing. But the company is committed to producing quality and to make that quality repeatable.

To put their money where their mouth is, Superior is offering a three-year money back guarantee on ALL Superior Cylinders, "no questions asked," said Tim. Superior is the first in the industry to do this.

On March 17th, Superior announced the concept of the XP-400 engine. In the span of time between March 17th and now, Superior has produced a running engine. Deliveries of the XP-400 are slated for August... but that's not all.

At AirVenture 2006, Superior also announced the company is getting back to its roots and getting back into racing. They have teamed up with the Unleashed Aircraft Race Team.

Frank Thielert was also quick to add that Superior would be remaining independent and that they will still be manufacturing PMA parts. The emphasis will be on quality, safety and value to the customer. All parts will be made in the United States and Germany only. The company is not even looking for manufacturing plants anywhere else.

Thielert says they're at Oshkosh this week to get customer feedback. It will be interesting to see what the new engines can do.

FMI: www.superiorairparts.com, www.thielert.com, www.americanflyers.net