Signature Engines

Signature Engines, Inc. is a piston aircraft engine overhaul and repair shop at Lunken Airport (KLUK) in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was started in 1998 by Bill Schmidt, a US Air Force veteran and pilot since 1964 who has since retired, and has operated as FAA certificated repair station E5ZR316Y since 1999. The shop works only on piston engines, with a focus on Lycoming and Continental models, and says it overhauls more than 180 engines a year for private owners and corporate operators in North America and abroad, including customers in South America, Europe, Australia and China.

Services

• Engine overhaul: complete disassembly, inspection and rebuild to OEM and FAA standards for Lycoming and Continental engines
• Engine repair, including teardown inspection and IRAN work after a prop strike, sudden stoppage, overspeed, detonation event, loss of compression, engine noise, camshaft or lifter problems, or an engine making metal
• Engine support: pre-overhaul and pre-repair consultation and technical guidance on every engine it services
• A written warranty on its overhauls, described on the site's warranty page

The site lists the companies it works with on parts and components, among them Superior Air Parts (for which it describes itself as a service center), Hartzell Aviation, AirPower, DIVCO, Aircraft Specialties Services, Professional Aircraft Accessories, AVStar, Crankcase Services and Main Turbo. The company also holds a USAF Non-Appropriated Fund purchasing agreement (F41999-26-D-0005) and a Mexican AFAC approval (CO-255/24), and says Aviation Consumer magazine ranked it among its top 10 engine overhaul shops.

Cirrus

The shop works on the Continental IO-550-N that powers the Cirrus SR22. Its website carries a customer account of a major overhaul of an IO-550-N from a Cirrus SR22 completed ahead of schedule and on budget, and the inquiry form uses the IO-550-N as one of its example engine models. Cirrus owners send the engine to Cincinnati for the work; the site does not describe any Cirrus factory status.

Facility

All work is done on the airfield at Lunken Airport in Hangars 6 and 7. The site has a virtual walkthrough of the shop. Pilots flying in are asked to tell the tower they are bound for Signature Engines rather than the FBO, and the site gives the coordinates 39° 6' 12" N, 84° 25' 7" W for flight planning.

Contact

Email: info@signatureengines.com
Hours: Monday to Friday, 7:30 am to 4:00 pm Eastern Time, excluding holidays
Description from the company's website (October 2026). Not a Cirrus Aircraft authorized service center. Is this your company? Claim this page to add photos and keep your details up to date.