Dropped by Superior in Coppell today..
.. just to see if the lights were still on. They were and I had a nice chat with them. As those who have received the 'big packets' already know, its a real deal. They filed on 12/31. The lights go out in a couple of weeks. Here is what I found out FWIW:
Lycs parent (Textron/Avco) bought the assets (parts, drawings, certifications, PMAs etc). Looking at the big photo-posters on the office walls of what they produced, $11M is a steal (IMHO)
They are keeping the engineering group, at least for now. No speculation why or whether they will stay on long term.
Since it was Lycs parent co. that bought them, for now at least, Lyc and Superior are sister companies. (Some news reports indicate that the XP business will stay. Didn't explore that).
No warranty support. Only assets were bought. (that's pretty standard, as bad as it is for the victims). Legally, warranties are honored by the bankrupt shell that's left after all the good stuff is gone.
If you have placed any deposits or pre-paid orders, you are now a creditor of the bankrupt shell. The $11M received in the buyout will go towards satisfying creditors. If you don't hear from the bankruptcy court very soon, contact them (sorry, don't know which one, call Superior while you can) and get on the list.
Eagle Engines bought a whole bunch of parts just before this went down.
The Thielert fiasco hurt a bunch. Thielert did the final machining on Superior's cylinders among other things. Other factors were mentioned, too, some of which have been in the news. Curiously, the economic downturn wasn't cited as a root cause. Business was OK if not spectacular. Foreign sales were pretty good, still.
Myself, I'm bummed. This was the year I was going to stroll down the street and buy my engine.What a great outfit. I recall when my buddy Ken built his engine from a kit with the help of an AP/IA. The guy showed us side by side with a Lyc the improvements that Superior had made in the whole engine. Bigger webs here, beefier parts there. Just, well, superior. Later, we dropped in at Coppell to get a couple of (free) bolts. Somehow, we got on to a prop I was considering and whether/why it might have RPM limitations etc and were blabbing on about it when (Bill?) charged out of his office and gave us a 10 min. symposium on torsional resonances and testing methods / procedures as they pertained to a 4 cyl engine / prop combination. Nice.