Gunskirchen, Austria, June 21, 2016 – Last year, BRP and its Rotax brand celebrated 40 years of Rotax aircraft engines and launched a contest that ended on December 31, 2015 to find the oldest certified Rotax aircraft engine in operation.

The contest winner was Kenneth Gates from Colorado, U.S.A. who owns a N351HK Super Dimona equipped with a Rotax 912 A certified engine. His aircraft engine with the serial number 36351 was produced in 1991 and is still in operation. Each participant had to provide a copy of the log book and latest proof of maintenance as well as personal contact information to his nearest authorized Rotax aircraft engine distributor.

The owner of the oldest active certified Rotax aircraft engine was invited to visit the Rotax factory in Gunskirchen, Austria where over 175,000 of the well-known Rotax aircraft engines have been developed and produced. The invitation included the travel expenses for two, two nights in a 4-star hotel, a tour of the Rotax facility and a welcome package.

"We were very impressed by the efficient processes used at the Rotax factory and the customer oriented attitude displayed by the management. Everyone is clearly very excited about continuous improvement and manufacturing the best products. We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the people and places of the Wels/Gunskirchen area," said Kenneth Gates, who retired from the US Air Force after a 25 years career and currently works as a schoolteacher in Colorado, U.S.A.

“It was a pleasure to welcome in Austria the contest winner with his wife and to show them the place where their own aircraft engine was produced. Moreover, they did not only visit the aircraft engines production, they also were among the first to see the brand new manufacturing area installed recently,” said Thomas Uhr, vice-president BRP-Powertrain and general manager BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG.