Chairman Of Chinese Parent Company Impressed At Oshkosh

Superior Air Parts, much lamented for its passing into bankruptcy at the end of 2008, is back, and now under Chinese ownership. Veteran powerplant company executive Tim Archer (at left in photo) is the CEO of the company, which operates manufacturing facilities in the US and China, and was joined at an AirVenture news conference Monday by Cheng Shenzong (at right in photo), Chairman of the Qingdao Brantly Investment Group and Beijing Suyoupeirui Company, now the parent companies of Superior Aviation, Beijing.

The official news is that Superior has been in negotiations with suppliers as it ramps back up, and has discovered that some costs are coming in lower than projected, allowing reduced prices for specific components including some Millennium cylinder assemblies. But the news conference quickly moved on to a more general discussion of Superior, its new structure, and Chinese perceptions of and plans for general aviation both at home and abroad.

Archer started the session by reading a prepared statement on behalf of Mr. Cheng, who explained the structure of the enterprises which are returning Superior to operation, and which plan to revive US-based production of Brantly helicopters once a manufacturing location is selected. Archer said that news is expected within the next three years.

From Cheng's statement, Archer read, "In recent months, all of our subsidiary companies have made rapid and significant advancements in their particular product areas." He went on to detail the first flight of the V750 unmanned helicopter, derived from the Brantly B2B; completion of Superior's 14,400 square foot, purpose-built facility in Beijing, which he described as a "mirror image" of the plant in Texas; and completion of the first training class of engine assemblers, engine testers and quality assurance inspectors.

Engine industry veteran Bob Mosely has been retained as production manager and in March of this year, under his supervision, the company completed assembly and testing of the first 360-cubic inch, 180 horsepower aircraft engine built by Superior Aviation Beijing for the China market. Cheng's statement concluded with an expression of enthusiasm and support for Superior, and his new appreciation for the "great opportunities today and in our future" he's seen at Oshkosh.

Archer noted that popular Superior products are returning to inventory, with XP engines and kits now being delivered, Vantage engine kits returning to production soon, and the company is preparing to meet a brisk demand for its aftermarket cylinders for Lycoming and Continental engines.

In answers to questions that followed the prepared remarks, Cheng and an interpreter joined Archer at the podium to address the changing aviation regulatory environment in China, and noted that so far, there is no legal way to fly a homebuilt aircraft there. Archer added that CAAC, the Civil Aviation Administration of China, may lack a legal outlet for the aspirations of experimental aircraft enthusiasts at this point, but a wave of demand for private aviation is growing.

Archer added that, in his view, US manufacturers overstate the speed at which the transformation of China's aviation market will happen, "because we see it as our salvation," but that in time, the change will come.

FMI: www.superiorairparts.com