"There Truly Is A Better Piston Engine"

Superior Air Parts, the newest manufacturer of FAA Certified piston engines for general aviation aircraft, says the Vantage Engine-powered "High Country Explorer" from American Champion Aircraft (ACA), has received its FAA approvals.

"This is an incredibly exciting time for us," said Terry Wood, Superior's V.P. of Sales and Marketing. "From the very inception of the Vantage Engine, we have looked forward to the day when it would be certified on an OEM aircraft so we could begin to show pilots that there truly is a better piston engine. We couldn't be prouder that the first such OEM airplane is built by American Champion."

Superior says performance, reliability, and flexibility are what the Vantage Engine is all about. Because the High Country Explorer has been developed to be a truly hard working, backcountry airplane, Jerry Mehlhaff, American Champion Aircraft President, added that another advantage of the Vantage Engine is that it is already approved to operate on both 100LL and unleaded automotive fuel. "We felt that this capability was extremely important with the Vantage Engine," Wood said. "It takes advantage of new technology to give both the aircraft OEM and the end-user flexibility that other engines don't offer."

The ability to use a variety of fuels is just part of what makes the Vantage Engine 'different' from other piston engines. "Superior's Vantage Engine may look like other horizontally-opposed, 180 horsepower, four-cylinder engines but that's where the resemblance ends. From the camshaft to the valve covers, the Vantage Engine is an all-new design," explained Keith Blockus, Superior's Senior Director of Engineering and Product Development. "We hold all of the design data and will manufacture all of the parts to the most stringent performance and quality specifications in the general aviation industry.""One of the major differentiators for this new engine is the fact that it is the first of its type certified in the United States to run on unleaded automotive gasoline," added Tim Archer, Superior Air Parts' president and CEO. "Low lead aviation fuel is not only becoming more expensive, in many parts of the world it is extremely difficult to get. We believe that the option to run on unleaded auto gas will be very attractive to a growing number of aircraft owners around the world."

Fuel flexibility is just part of what make the Vantage Engine truly 'different.' The Vantage Engine benefits from component manufacturing techniques and materials that weren't thought of when the last-generation of piston engines were developed. Superior designed and manufactured parts are certified to the latest Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) Part 33, where as the majority of the parts used in OEM engines were most likely certified to the much older Civil Air Regulations (CAR) Part 13. Many of these standards are outdated, obsolete and often superseded today.

Wood added that ACA's selection of the Vantage Engine for the High Country Explorer shows that the company has great confidence in Superior's new engine. "The High Country Explorer has been created to meet their customers' demands for an airplane that has the power and capabilities they need to operate on short runways in remote locations," he said. "The Vantage Engine has proven to ACA, their dealers and the FAA that it will routinely deliver the performance and reliability these customers demand. If it didn't, it wouldn't be on the front of the airplane today."

"I think we will give the competition a real run for the money," Mehlhaff said. "It really shows off its advantages in the takeoff and climb numbers. Customers really like it. We've delivered two High Country Explorers already and will have two or three more in the hands of operators by the end of June."

FMI: www.superiorairparts.com