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Murphy Aircraft Manufacturing Limited
Industrymanufacturing
Founded1984
FounderDarryl Murphy
Headquarters2-8155 Aitken Rd Chilliwack B.C. V2R4H5,
Chilliwack, British Columbia
,
Canada
Key people
Managing director: Jensen Li
ProductsKit aircraft
OwnerDuofu International Holding Group
Websitewww.murphyair.com
Murphy Aircraft's first commercial product was the Renegade II biplane.
Murphy Aircraft Renegade Spirit.

Murphy Aircraft Manufacturing Limited is a Canadian maker of civil general aviation kits for amateur construction currently owned by China-headquartered Duofu Group. The company was founded in 1985 by Darryl Murphy and is located in Chilliwack, British Columbia.[1][2][3]

History

The company was started as the result of a hunting accident. Darryl Murphy was a mechanical engineering technologist who designed and built a rigid wing hang glider in 1978 as a school project at the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. In 1984 Murphy was in a non-aviation accident that left him hospitalized for four months. During his recovery time he decided to design a biplane to fit into the then-new Canadian ultralight category. The aircraft was a single-seat model and was intended as a one-off aircraft for his own use, with no production intentions. Murphy named it the Renegade.[4][5]

After taking the Renegade to a number of fly-ins and other aviation events, Murphy was encouraged by the positive response it received and by the number of people who asked him to build one for them. In 1985 Murphy quit his job and started Murphy Aviation (later renamed Murphy Aircraft Manufacturing), with his brother Bryan and located the company in Chilliwack, British Columbia.[4][6]

The original Renegade design was turned into a two-seater by relocating the fuel tank from the centre fuselage to the upper wing, installing a second seat and designating it the Renegade II. Initial sales were disappointing as only one kit was sold in the first six months. Sales improved greatly once the aviation press began reviewing the aircraft. By 1986 the company had a backlog of orders, including many from outside North America. Murphy displayed the Renegade at the EAA Convention, Oshkosh and returned to Chilliwack with a substantial order book. During 1989 sales totalled 129 Renegade IIs.[4][6]

In May 1987 a new version of the basic Renegade design first flew. Named the Renegade Spirit it added a radial engine-style round cowling and a 64 hp (48 kW) Rotax 532 and later the Rotax 582 engine.[7][8][9][10]

In September 2008, as a result of restructuring due to the early 2000s recession, Murphy Aircraft split off their sales functions to a new company, Patterson AeroSales, headed by former Murphy sales representative Bob Patterson. Murphy Aircraft continues to concentrate on designing and manufacturing kit aircraft while Patterson handles "show appearances, advertising materials, promotions and general sales responsibilities". Murphy Aircraft President Darryl Murphy also explained that the company will only manufacture kits in batches once sufficient numbers of orders have been accumulated to justify a production run and that standard aircraft hardware parts, like rivets and bolts would be shipped directly from the suppliers to customers to save costs.[11]

On 9 January 2014 the company issued a press release indicating that Darryl Murphy was retiring and wished to sell the company, indicating he expected to receive in the "$2.5 to $4 million range, depending on how much of the manufacturing machinery the buyer wants".[12][13]

On 22 January 2016 Murphy Aircraft announced that it has begun the process to put the Murphy Rebel into the light-sport aircraft category.[14]

The company unveiled a new Darryl Murphy design at AirVenture in July 2016, the Murphy Radical, which incorporates bicycle carriers on the wings.[15][16]

In 2022, Murphy Aircraft was acquired by Beijing-based Duofu International Holding Group, one of the top 25 Chinese conglomerates, which has subsidiaries in the fields of investment, manufacturing, mining, real estate, culture, tourism, international trade and aviation manufacturing. The company appointed Jensen Li as the managing director.[17][18]

The newly acquired company halted kit production while rewriting the kit documentation using CAD/CAM computerization and also re-working the kits to speed up assembly time with improved pre-drilling. Kit production was expected to resume later in 2023, with a reduced offering of only three designs, the Murphy Moose, Radical and Rebel.[19]

Aircraft

Product list and details (date information from Murphy)
 Aircraft   Description   Seats   Launch date   1st flight   1st delivery   Number built 
Murphy Elite propeller aircraft/float plane 2
Murphy Maverick propeller aircraft/ultralight/LSA 2
Murphy Moose (SR3500) utility monoplane 2~6
Murphy Rebel propeller aircraft/float plane/LSA 2+1 May 1990 Feb 1991
Murphy SR2500 Super Rebel
Murphy Renegade biplane/LSA 2
Murphy Yukon propeller aircraft 4 2007 2007 2012 3
Murphy JDM-8 propeller acrobatic/ultralight 1 prototype only
Murphy Radical propeller STOL 4 2016 2016 2017 5 (2023)

References

  1. ^ Purdy, Don: AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, page 212. BAI Communications. ISBN 0-9636409-4-1
  2. ^ Downey, Julia: 2008 Kit Aircraft Directory, Kitplanes, Volume 24, Number 12, December 2007, page 63. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
  3. ^ Kitplanes Staff: 1999 Kit Aircraft Directory, Kitplanes, Volume 15, Number 12, December 1998, page 57. Primedia Publications. IPM 0462012
  4. ^ a b c Murphy Aircraft: Meet Our Staff: President Darryl Murphy, Towards the Flightline, Winter 1993-84 page 3. Murphy Aircraft.
  5. ^ Zukowski, Helena (January 2008). "Runway Model". Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  6. ^ a b Murphy Aviation: News Bulletin, page 4. Murphy Aviation, Spring 1988
  7. ^ Murphy Aviation: News Bulletin, page 2. Murphy Aviation, Summer 1987
  8. ^ Armstrong, Ken: Catching the Spirit, Kitplanes Magazine
  9. ^ Murphy Aviation: Catching the "Spirit" in a Murphy Rengade - Info Package. Murphy Aviation, 1990
  10. ^ Campbell, Jim: Getting the Spirit. Sport Pilot, pages 20-25, 66-70, April 1989
  11. ^ Murphy, Darryl (September 2008). "New sales & production structure letter" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 November 2009. Retrieved 27 December 2009.
  12. ^ Murphy Aircraft (9 January 2014). "Murphy Aircraft For Sale". Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  13. ^ Durden, Rick (9 January 2014). "Murphy Aircraft Manufacturing On the Market For $2.5-$4 Million". AVweb. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  14. ^ "Murphy Aircraft Mfg. announces two exciting new projects". 22 January 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  15. ^ "Murphy Aircraft begins S-LSA certification for Rebel". General Aviation News. 28 January 2016. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  16. ^ "Murphy Radical Adds Bike Racks". AVweb. 12 April 2019. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  17. ^ Folkerts, Jerry (28 April 2022). "Murphy Resurgent". AVweb. Archived from the original on 29 April 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  18. ^ "Emerging Industries". Duofu Group. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  19. ^ Wilson, Tom (13 March 2023). "Murphy Radical". AVweb. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
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