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Operations

What we make and do.

Aircraft kits, components and engines are manufactured, supported and sold by the businesses in this family. Here is the work — and the company that does each part of it.
01 — Manufacturing

We make things.

Across our family of aviation businesses, we manufacture aircraft kits, components and propulsion systems under Mini-Max USA, Carlson Aircraft and ThrustCraft Performance.
Black-and-white photograph of a man working on welded steel-tube fuselage frames in a shop
FIG. 01Welding steel-tube fuselage framesCarlson Aircraft archive
Close view of the wing strut attachment fitting on a Carlson Sparrow II
FIG. 02Wing strut attachment fittingCarlson Aircraft archive
A bare welded steel-tube fuselage frame of a Carlson Sparrow on a driveway
FIG. 03Sparrow steel-tube fuselage frameCarlson Aircraft archive

Scope of the work

  • Aircraft kits
  • Replacement parts
  • Wood aircraft components
  • Metal aircraft components
  • Fabrication
  • Assembly
  • Engine assembly
  • Component production
  • Product development
  • Testing
  1. 01

    Mini-Max USA

    Aircraft kits, components and replacement parts, and continued production and support of the Mini-Max designs — plans, Mini-Kits, pre-fab rib kits, full kits and quick-build options, produced in Niles.

  2. 02

    Carlson Aircraft

    Parts and components for the Carlson Sparrow family, support for the aircraft already flying, and the groundwork for Carlson designs to be built again.

  3. 03

    ThrustCraft Performance

    Four-stroke aviation engines and components: assembly, development and dyno testing. Engines are in build and in flight test; ordering opens as each one is proven. A sister company under common ownership.

02 — Distribution

Bringing aircraft and propulsion to U.S. builders.

Good products made elsewhere still need a U.S. home: stocked inventory, USD pricing, domestic shipping, and support from people who build. That is what SD Planes USA and ACE Redrives USA exist to provide.
A white SD-1 Minisport with red trim parked on grass, seen from the front quarter with the propeller stopped
FIG. 04SD-1 Minisport on the grassSpacek / SD Planes USA
A Briggs & Stratton V-twin engine fitted with an Ace Aviation belt-drive reduction unit on a workbench
FIG. 05Ace belt-drive PSRU on a V-twinAce Aviation / ACE Redrives USA
An SE33I XP engine kit laid out: engine, cowl, propeller, mount, spinner and hardware
FIG. 06SE33I XP firewall-forward kitSpacek / SD Planes USA

The products behind the names: the SD-1 Minisport and the SE33I XP engine that SD Planes USA sells and supports in the United States, and the Ace Aviation belt-drive redrives that ACE Redrives USA supplies to North American builders.

  1. 01

    SD Planes USA

    U.S. distributor for Spacek SD aircraft and engines: the single-seat SD-1 Minisport kit and the SE33I XP four-stroke engine, with sales, parts and builder support from Niles. The two-seat SD-2 SportMaster is a planned future U.S. offering.

  2. 02

    ACE Redrives USA

    Authorized distributor of Ace Aviation belt-drive propeller speed reduction units for the United States and Canada: U.S.-stocked inventory, USD pricing, fitment help and spare-parts support.

03 — Aircraft support & preservation

Keeping older aircraft flying.

Mini-Max and Carlson aircraft have been built by their owners for four decades. Supporting them is not an afterthought to manufacturing — it is half the job.
An uncovered Carlson Sparrow fuselage and tail with the wing structure exposed, in a shop
FIG. 07Sparrow airframe, uncoveredCarlson Aircraft archive
Original Carlson Aircraft three-view drawing of the Sparrow with a specifications table and title block
FIG. 08Original Sparrow three-view drawingCarlson Aircraft archive
  1. 01

    Parts that ship

    Replacement parts and sub-kits for the Mini-Max fleet, and parts and components for the Carlson Sparrow family — so an airplane built decades ago can stay airworthy.

  2. 02

    Documentation that survives

    Original drawings and plans gathered from the people who still have them, manuals brought up to date, and the knowledge behind a design kept where the next builder can use it.

  3. 03

    Builders who are not on their own

    A builder-assist program at the Niles facility, technical guidance, and builder communities reconnected through events and outreach.

  4. 04

    Designs with a future

    Continued development of the Mini-Max, Hi-Max, V-Max and AeroMax lines, and careful evaluation of what Carlson designs come next.

Mini-Max USA · Carlson Aircraft

04 — Propulsion development

Four-stroke power for small aircraft.

ThrustCraft Performance develops four-stroke powerplants and power systems for sport aviation, ultralight aviation and other performance applications — built and dyno-tested in house, with engines in flight test.
Powerplant type
4-stroke
Sport aviation, ultralight and other performance uses
Program status
Testing
Engines in build, on the dyno and in flight test
Ordering
Not yet
Opens as each engine is proven

Ordering opens as each engine is proven. Until then the work is engineering, assembly, dyno time and flight hours — and we say so rather than sell ahead of it. ThrustCraft Performance LLC is a sister company under common ownership with Av8r Capital Group Corp.

Visit ThrustCraft(opens in a new tab)
05 — Niles, Michigan

A working shop on a working airport.

These are physical businesses, not a collection of websites. Aircraft operations are centered on the facility at Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport in Niles, Michigan.
A red Mini-Max aircraft with a bare wood-and-fabric fuselage parked on a cracked asphalt ramp in front of hangars
FIG. 09Mini-Max on the rampMini-Max USA

What happens in Niles

  • Aircraft kit production
  • Parts fabrication
  • Assembly
  • Fulfillment and shipping
  • Builder and customer support
  • Aircraft work and builder assist
Location
Niles, MI
Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport (3TR)
Runway 15/33
4,100ft
Asphalt, 75 ft wide
Kit production
On site
Mini-Max plans, Mini-Kits and full kits
Builder assist
On site
Mini-Max USA program
Built by builders — Carlson Sparrow II
A white Carlson Sparrow II seen head-on on a grass airfield, propeller stopped
FIG. 10Sparrow II, head-onCarlson Aircraft archive

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