The Chilliwack, British Columbia aircraft kit manufacturer saw all its physical assets auctioned off last week. The court-ordered auction was initiated by the owner of the building after several months of unpaid rent.
The aircraft factory’s bay doors were open this week as the successful bidders of tools, machines, parts, partially completed aircraft and amphibious floats carted away their newly acquired equipment.
“The auction was a success – everything sold,” said Sam Garandza, general manager of Able Auctions.
Murphy Aircraft Manufacturing, Ltd. was founded in 1985 by Daryl Murphy. His first design was the Renegade, a Rotax-powered, fabric-covered aerobatic biplane. It was followed over the years by several high-wing designs, including the best-selling Rebel and later the Super Rebel, which morphed into the Moose. Murphy’s latest design was the Radical, the prototype of which was produced in 2016 and made an appearance at AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 2018. By then, over 2,000 kits had been sold to builders in Europe, Asia, Oceana and across the Americas, with over half of all kits going to the United States alone.
However, business was slowing and Daryl was looking to retire, actively seeking a buyer. In 2022, he sold the company to the Duofu Group, a huge conglomerate based in Beijing, China. Duofu was ranked 38th among the top privately owned Chinese enterprises, with more than 10,000 employees and over U$38 billion in annual revenues.
After the 2022 purchase, the business plan was to bring Murphy Aircraft back to profitability through parts sales and the return to production of the Rebel, Elite and Moose kit airplanes. Development of the Radical continued and the company began marketing those kits too.
Despite growing sales, signs of financial stress began appearing several months ago. Telephone and internet connections were often down until accounts were paid up. Social media was rampant with rumours of the company’s troubles. Suppliers such as shipping companies and raw material purveyors demanded money up front before services or goods were delivered.
Then news came that Duofu Group’s owner and founder, Hu Xingrong, reportedly worth U$1.9 billion, was detained by police in China on July 7, 2026, on suspicion of bank fraud related to overly inflated property values that were used for loan collaterals. Control of Duofu was passed to others in the organization. Financial support for Murphy Aircraft from its parent company dried up.
At this time, it is not clear what will come of Murphy Aircraft’s intellectual property.
Full disclosure: this writer worked for Murphy Aircraft from July 2024 until September 2025 as sales manager.
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