“New” Superior Engine Gets Production Certificate

Generally, if it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck … well, you know the rest. But the devil’s in the details and as much as this engine looks (and presumably sounds) like a Lycoming 360, Superior Air Parts says its Vantage engine is “the newest FAA certified 180-horsepower piston engine.” Last week, the FAA granted Superior a full production certificate for the engine, which was certified in April. Although in form it appears to be a Lycoming, Superior says there are significant improvements in design over the 50-year-old example and demand is strong for its “new” engine. The first engines off the assembly line will go to American Champion Aircraft for a new model called the High Country Explorer. Receipt of the production certificate also entitles Superior to obtain supplementary type certificates allowing installation of the engines in Piper Cherokees and Cessna 172s. Among the improvements cited by Superior is that the engine is certified to run on automotive gasoline.