Product Alert: Forced Aeromotive Superchargers (updated)

For nearly 20 years, Colorado-based Forced Aeromotive has been manufacturing PMA aftermarket bolt-on supercharger systems with STCs for a variety of Cessna 182, Diamond DA40, and Cirrus SR22 models, plus applications for experimentals. With over 300 of these systems in service in the U.S., we’ve been contacted by owners who report they can’t obtain replacement parts and engineering support for their superchargers after the company’s founder and principal, Rod Sage, passed away roughly one year ago. Sage has been our go-to when reporting on these systems over the years, and he was the backbone of the company’s engineering and support efforts for systems in the field, plus new system sales.

But with his passing, normal operations at Forced Aeromotive have stopped and as a result, owners have concerns about sourcing new parts, which could leave them AOG and in some cases, might be forced to remove the systems from their aircraft—limiting their performance. A brief review is in order.

Supercharger 101

While similar to turbochargers, superchargers are air compressors directly driven by the engine via a belt, gears, or the crankshaft. Forced Aeromotive took an interesting approach in boosting engine power for increased performance. He once told us that the vast majority of owners of turbocharged airplanes never flew them above 12,500 feet. He also looked at side-by-side performance numbers for turbocharged and normally aspirated versions of the same airplane and saw that, because of the back pressure in the exhaust system, the turbo airplanes did not perform as well as their normally aspirated brethren below 10,000 feet. What if he could offer the best of both worlds? He did.

By spooling a supercharger from the engine’s accessory drive, the engine could develop its sea-level horsepower up to 7,000 feet or more and make 75 percent power at 12,000 feet. Moreover, the supercharger doesn’t compress the charge of air going into the induction system nearly to the degree that a turbocharger does on a system that allows full power to be developed to some 20,000 feet. That increases the temperature of that air by over 200 degrees—which means you need an intercooler. But the supercharger increases the induction air temperature by no more than 60 or so degrees, providing a relatively cool, dense charge to the engine. And since the system doesn’t use the amount of compressive force that turbochargers are capable of, it’s much less likely to cause the engine and exhaust wear that tags along with heavily boosted engines. If you own high-output turbocharged engine, you get it—and the big shop invoices.

Real Performance Boost

These systems work, and ones we’ve flown boost cruise speeds by up to 20 knots over a normally aspirated models. But the real appeal is that climb rate goes up as much as 500 fpm. Sage once told us that airplanes with his supercharger mod outclimb normally aspirated and turbocharged models of the same type from sea level to 10,000 feet, and owners attest to it. The normally aspirated airplane will initially climb with the supercharged one, but within about 2,000 feet of sea level, its power loss becomes noticeable. There’s also a level of operational simplicity. On takeoff, firewall the throttle (you get 28 inches of MP), no matter the altitude. An electromagnetic valve (with a second one in place as a backup) opens when the target manifold pressure is reached, which is 29.6 inches in the Cirrus SR22 and 28 inches in the Cessna 182, as two examples.

And once the airplane reaches critical altitude (or the altitude where the supercharger will not provide enough air for the engine to maintain sea-level power) the electromagnetic valve closes and all of the air charge is directed to the engine. Manifold pressure then begins to drop at a rate of one inch per thousand feet. As one owner told us of his supercharged Cirrus, “In this airplane, I take sea level and move it to 7000 feet.” And because the supercharger has its own oil system, there’s no need for a spool-down before shutting the engine off as with turbos.

But as simple as simple as the Forced Aeromotive supercharger is (relatively speaking), upkeep is required—and that includes sourcing replacement parts. For now, that’s a problem. We spent some time with a frustrated Cirrus owner, Alexander Wolf, who was AOG because of failed components on his system. He’s learned to stockpile some service parts, but he’s at the point of removing the system altogether—essentially returning his Cirrus to a normally aspirated model. That limits his intended high-flying missions, which means having to buy a turbocharged model.

Like other owners of the Forced Aeromotive supercharger mod we talked with, he’s hoping a buyer will step in to support the fleet. It might not be that easy. Still, he gave us a tour of his engine and offered his sentiments in the video below. Understandably, he’s not a happy owner. We called Forced Aeromotive for comment and talked with Boyd Gallaher, who was listed on the company website. He told us he’s not associated with the company’s operations, but rather owns a Cessna with the Forced Aeromotive supercharger installed and is standing with other owners who simply don’t want an orphaned system. Buyers for the company wanted.

Updated September 24, 2025: Since we ran this story, we were contacted by Ian Sage, the son of founder Ron Sage. Ian told us he previously worked for the company as a contract installer, and while he has a deep knowledge of the supercharger system and was involved in the design of some components and assembly of kits, he was removed from the day-to-day operations. We were told that while it might take longer for him to respond than owners are accustomed to from dealing with his father, he is trying to support the existing fleet by supplying parts that remain in inventory, which is around $90,000 worth, according to Sage. If select components don’t exist in inventory, Sage said he tries to have them fabricated from existing PMA’d parts (welding up metal mounts, as one example). Sage said he is technically the interim STC holder, but since the facility listed on the PMA approval no longer exists, technically, any new parts requiring a PMA fabricated after April 2025 can’t be shipped for a legal installation. Sage said he can provide approved drawings to qualified shops and mechanics attempting to make component repairs in the field, essentially using PMA’d parts to make one assembly, as an example.

As we mentioned in the original report, the Forced Aeromotive intellectual property and remaining limited inventory needs a qualified buyer to effectively support the fleet, make design improvements, and manufacture new parts through the PMA process. Worth mentioning is that Sage told us there a handful of new supercharger kits on backorder, but without a valid PMA, the kits can’t ship for installation. All calls for support and other matters are being fielded by Boyd Gallaher at 928-713-9355. He returned our call within minutes.