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Av8r Capital Group · Niles, Michigan

Preserve what works. Build what comes next.

An aviation group that builds, supports and distributes light aircraft and propulsion — and keeps worthwhile small-aircraft designs in production and in the air. We do it because we love airplanes.

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  • A red Mini-Max aircraft with a bare wood-and-fabric fuselage parked on a cracked asphalt ramp in front of hangars

    01 — AircraftMini-Max USA

  • A white and red Spacek SD-1 Minisport in flight, seen from the front quarter, over woods and a village

    02 — DistributionSD Planes USA

  • A bare welded steel-tube fuselage frame of a Carlson Sparrow on a driveway

    03 — PreservationCarlson Aircraft

  • A Briggs & Stratton V-twin engine fitted with an Ace Aviation belt-drive reduction unit on a workbench

    04 — PropulsionACE Redrives USA

01 — What we do

An operating aviation group.

Av8r Capital Group and its affiliated companies manufacture aircraft kits and components, develop and distribute propulsion, support builders and the aircraft already flying, and give good designs a future. Five companies and brands in one family, run by people who build and fly.
  1. 01

    We build aircraft

    Kit aircraft, plans, components and replacement parts for owner-builders, produced and supported from Niles, Michigan.

    Mini-Max USA · Carlson Aircraft

  2. 02

    We develop and distribute propulsion

    Four-stroke powerplants in build and test, plus U.S. distribution of engines and belt-drive reduction units for sport and ultralight aviation.

    ThrustCraft Performance · ACE Redrives USA · SD Planes USA

  3. 03

    We bring aircraft to U.S. builders

    U.S. representation for aircraft and propulsion products that need stateside inventory, USD pricing and someone in the same time zone who answers.

    SD Planes USA · ACE Redrives USA

  4. 04

    We keep good designs flying

    Documentation, parts that ship, builder assist at the facility, and a reconnected community around each design — so an airplane outlives the company that first made it.

    Mini-Max USA · Carlson Aircraft

We do this because we love airplanes — and because the people who build and fly them deserve companies that answer the phone.

Why Av8r exists
On the ramp — Carlson Sparrow
A white and blue Carlson Sparrow parked beside a taxiway near a hangar
FIG. 01Sparrow beside the taxiwayCarlson Aircraft archive
02 — Our companies and brands

Built, supported and sold under their own names.

Each company operates under its own name, with its own website and support channels. Av8r is the family behind them.
  1. 01

    Mini-Max USA

    Kit aircraft / owner-built aviation

    Aircraft kits, plans, parts and builder assist

    Visit site (opens in a new tab)
  2. 02

    SD Planes USA

    Light-aircraft distribution / U.S. support

    SD-1 Minisport · SE33I XP engine · U.S. builder support

    Visit site (opens in a new tab)
  3. 03

    Carlson Aircraft

    Legacy aircraft support

    Sparrow documentation, owner and builder support

    Visit site (opens in a new tab)
  4. 04

    ThrustCraft Performance

    Propulsion development

    Four-stroke powerplants, built and tested in house

    Visit site (opens in a new tab)
  5. 05

    ACE Redrives USA

    Reduction-drive distribution

    Ace Aviation PSRUs, U.S.-stocked and supported

    Visit site (opens in a new tab)
The full portfolio
03 — Operating, not just owning

We build, we ship, we answer the phone.

These are operating aviation businesses, not passive holdings. Our family is hands-on with production, parts, shipping, support and development: cutting and packing kits, welding and fabricating parts, stocking inventory, picking up when a builder calls with a question, taking an engine to the dyno, and putting products on U.S. soil so nobody is waiting on a container.

  1. 01

    Manufacturing & kits

    Mini-Max plans, Mini-Kits, pre-fab rib kits and full aircraft kits are produced and shipped from the Niles facility.

  2. 02

    Parts, inventory & support

    Replacement parts for the fleet, U.S.-stocked redrives and engines, and support staffed by people who build.

  3. 03

    Development & testing

    Four-stroke powerplants built and dyno-tested in house, and continued development of the Mini-Max lines.

What we make and do, in detail
Black-and-white photograph of a man working on welded steel-tube fuselage frames in a shop
FIG. 02Welding steel-tube fuselage framesCarlson Aircraft archive
04 — Niles, Michigan

Built around airplanes, not boardrooms.

Our aircraft operations are centered on the facility at Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport in Niles, Michigan: Mini-Max kit production, parts fabrication, assembly, fulfillment and builder assist, and the U.S. base for SD Planes USA and Carlson Aircraft support.
A red Mini-Max aircraft with a bare wood-and-fabric fuselage parked on a cracked asphalt ramp in front of hangars
FIG. 03Mini-Max on the rampMini-Max USA
FAA identifier
3TR
Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport
Field elevation
750ft
Niles, Michigan
Runway 15/33
4,100× 75 ft
Asphalt
Airport use
Public
Open to the public since 1940

Airport data: FAA airport record.

05 — Preserving aviation designs

A good design shouldn't end with its company.

Small aircraft rarely disappear because they stopped being useful. They disappear because the business behind them ran out of road. Mini-Max is how we approach that problem.
Original Carlson Aircraft three-view drawing of the Sparrow with a specifications table and title block
FIG. 04Original Sparrow three-view drawingCarlson Aircraft archive

From preservation to growth — the Mini-Max case

The Mini-Max family began with Wayne Ison in the 1980s, passed through several companies over four decades and, by the time it reached us in 2025, needed parts, paperwork and a company that answered. Today Mini-Max USA ships plans and kits from Niles, has restored parts supply, is rebuilding the builder community and continues to develop the line.

  1. 01

    Acquire

    Take responsibility for the design, the documentation and the name — including what was never written down.

  2. 02

    Stabilize

    Restore parts supply, answer the open orders, and put the plans and manuals back in order.

  3. 03

    Support

    Reconnect the builders and owners, and give the community a company that picks up the phone.

  4. 04

    Develop

    Improve manufacturing and, carefully, develop the product line — without breaking what made it good.

Preserve the knowledge too

Aircraft history lives in more than drawings. We also steward builder communities, archives and decades of accumulated knowledge.

Explore aviation heritage
Keeping good airplanes flying
Black-and-white photograph of a Carlson Sparrow banking against an overcast sky
FIG. 05Sparrow bankingCarlson Aircraft archive
06 — We're growing

Looking for companies, people, places and partners.

The next chapter needs more than airplanes: designs that deserve a future, room to build them, airports and communities that want aviation manufacturing, and people who want to do the work.
  1. 01

    Acquisitions

    For aviation companies and designs that need a future — founders, heirs and owners who want the airplane to keep flying.

    Talk to us about a brand
  2. 02

    Opportunities

    For airports, properties, communities and strategic opportunities that could give our businesses room to grow.

    See what we are looking for
  3. 03

    Join us

    For people, EAA chapters, schools and partners who want to help build aircraft, engines, companies and community.

    Introduce yourself

Aircraft. Propulsion. Distribution. Builder support.

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