Published in Midwest Flyer – February/March 2019 issue
MOBILE, ALA. – Continental Motors Group Ltd. (CMG), an AVIC® International Holding (HK) LTD company (HKEX: 232.HK), announced December 4, 2018 that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Liaoning Cub Aircraft Corp to be the engine provider for the “Top Cub,” the first kit aircraft built in China, for the Chinese market. The experimental Top Cub is based on the Part 23 certified Top Cub CC18-180, originally designed by CubCrafters and acquired by Top Cub Aircraft Inc., a subsidiary company of Liaoning, in 2015. The availability of the Top Cub as a kit aircraft, powered by a CMG Titan™ kit engine, marks the opening of the experimental market in China. Top Cub Aircraft and Continental® are the first companies to offer a complete aircraft in kit form, after the Chinese CAAC agreed to allow experimental building in China.
Wolfgang Qian, CEO of Liaoning Cub Aircraft Corp, said that the combination of the Titan™IO-360 engine with their airframe, offers the best power-to-weight ratio that they could hope for. The strategic partnership with Continental Motors Group allows Liaoning Cub Aircraft Corp to offer a highly reliable engine to its customers and to provide them with industry leading technical support. “We are convinced that the experimental market will expand rapidly in China,” said Qian. “The capacity of CMG’s local team to assist Top Cub builders with all the information related to the safe operation of the engine and its maintenance was crucial, as is their ability to stock the parts in China needed for scheduled maintenance.”
The partnership with Continental Motors® materialized with the delivery of the first six engines, after the CAAC validated the experimental building rules. These Titan™ engines are destined to equip the first six experimental Top Cubs to be built in China by their owners.
The combined flexibility of the Top Cub two-seat airframe, and the 180/185 maximum horsepower of the Titan™ IO-360, its low weight of 270 lbs. dry, and its 2,000-hour time between overhaul (TBO) rating, makes it the ideal engine for flying in and out of the most rugged airfields, while cruising at high speed.
