OEM Equipment On A Variety Of New Aircraft

It stands to reason that as the general aviation sales market grows, so too must the market for the instruments that go into those new and refurbished aircraft. Earlier this month, Mid-Continent Instruments marked a significant milestone as its gyro production line, Electric Gyro Corp., celebrated the manufacturing of its 100,000th turn coordinator.

MCI told Aero-News that these critical flight instruments are used by thousands of pilots daily, and are supplied as standard equipment for many Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) including Cessna, Raytheon, Piper, Mooney, Maule Air, Robinson Helicopter, Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland, Diamond Aircraft in Canada and Austria, among others.

Mid-Continent’s EGC turn coordinators, and turn and slip indicators, have been installed in more aircraft than any other type during the 40 years they have been in production.

The indicators provide the pilot with turn rate and slip/skid information, and are electrically powered to provide critical flight data in the event of vacuum system interruption or attitude gyro failure.

Since its inception, EGC has offered unique benefits -- including a smaller and lightweight unit, great field support, and affordable prices. Perhaps the most significant evolution occurred when an OEM customer requested an effort to double the service life of EGC gyros.

"We took this very seriously so we put our heads together and lengthened the life of the turn coordinator significantly for our OEM customer. We continue to look for ways to improve the unit to this day," said Dave Clark.

Mid-Continent instruments are found in all new Cessna-built airplanes and in Raytheon's Beech line of Bonanzas, Barons, King Airs and 1900 Airliners. Other key customers include Garmin International, Lancair, Piper Aircraft Co., and Robinson Helicopter Co.

FMI: www.mcico.com