Chelton Flight Systems, S-TEC to Become Roomies
Cobham’s Avionics and Surveillance Division announced today that it was going to merge operations of its two subsidiaries, Chelton Flight Systems and S-TEC, at the latter’s Mineral Wells, Texas, facility. According to a press release just received, “The capabilites of CFS and S-TEC are highly complementary, with products from both businesses certified together on more than 500 aircraft types. The move is part of Cobham’s drive to develop a fully integrated cockpit and improve its customer focus.” Chelton owner Cobham had acquired S-TEC from Meggitt at the beginning of the year. The merged operations will take up residence in the 57,000-square-foot facility currently used by S-TEC.
It’s not clear what impact this will have on the Experimental market long term. Chelton, once a frontrunner in high-end EFIS equipment for homebuilts has lost ground to the up-and-coming middle-market EFIS manufacturers (Advanced Flight, Dynon and Grand Rapids, for example) and is being threatened by Garmin’s G900X Experimental-class system. Chelton also lost momentum after the controversial closure of Direct-To Avionics, once the sole conduit for systems to the Experimental market.
KITPLANES Editor at Large Marc Cook has been in aviation journalism for 23 years and in magazine work for more than 25. He is a 4500-hour instrument-rated, multi-engine pilot with experience in nearly 150 types. He’s completed two kit aircraft, an Aero Designs Pulsar XP and a Glastar Sportsman 2+2.
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