Murphy Aircraft
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| Industry | Aerospace manufacturing |
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| Founded | 1984 |
| Founder | Darryl Murphy |
| Headquarters | 2-8155 Aitken Rd Chilliwack B.C. V2R4H5, Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada |
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Key people
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President and CEO: Darryl Murphy |
| Products | Kit aircraft |
| Owner | Darryl Murphy |
| Website | www |
Murphy Aircraft Manufacturing Limited is a Canadian maker of civil general aviation kits for amateur construction. The company was founded in 1985 by Darryl Murphy and is located in Chilliwack, British Columbia.
The company was started as the result of an hunting accident. Darryl Murphy was a mechanical engineering technologist who designed and built a rigid wing hang glider in 1978 as a school project at the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. In 1984 Murphy was in a non-aviation accident that left him hospitalized for four months. During his recovery time he decided to design a biplane to fit into the then-new Canadian ultralight category. The aircraft was a single-seat model and was intended as a one-off aircraft for his own use, with no production intentions. Murphy named it the Renegade.
After taking the Renegade to a number of fly-ins and other aviation events, Murphy was encouraged by the positive response it received and by the number of people who asked him to build one for them. In 1985 Murphy quit his job and started Murphy Aviation (later renamed Murphy Aircraft Manufacturing), with his brother Bryan and located the company in Chilliwack, British Columbia.
The original Renegade design was turned into a two-seater by relocating the fuel tank from the centre fuselage to the upper wing, installing a second seat and designating it the Renegade II. Initial sales were disappointing as only one kit was sold in the first six months. Sales improved greatly once the aviation press began reviewing the aircraft. By 1986 the company had a backlog of orders, including many from outside North America. Murphy displayed the Renegade at the EAA Convention, Oshkosh and returned to Chilliwack with a substantial order book. During 1989 sales totalled 129 Renegade IIs.
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