Superior Aviation Group acquired the Gemini diesel engine and plans to develop 100- to 600-hp versions of the powerplant, the company announced yesterday at Sun ’n’ Fun 2015. The 100-hp Gemini 100, intended for light sport aircraft, will be the first in the new engine family to be fielded by Superior. FAA certification of the $24,900 powerplant is expected later this year, with initial deliveries slated for early 2016.

Superior CEO Tim Archer said that because of its “uniflow” design featuring two opposing pistons per cylinder, the three-cylinder Gemini 100 will be smaller than many current 100LL and diesel piston aircraft engines, giving it a power-to-weight ratio advantage.

The Gemini 100 is currently running in the test cell,” Archer said. “It is meeting all of our performance goals and right now we anticipate having pre-production engines within 90 days.” The Gemini 100 has a similar profile to the Rotax 912.

Superior's Gemini diesel family engines will be able to burn jet-A and have a mechanically simpler design with fewer moving parts, the company said. The company also projects that the Gemini powerplants will have up to 20-percent lower fuel burn than conventional aircraft engines.