Mid-Continent Instruments West Celebrates 20 Years

Twenty years ago Mid-Continent Instruments opened a West Coast facility at Van Nuys Airport in Southern California, starting with a tiny 500-sq-ft building. The company’s West Coast division has grown since then and is now housed in a 15,000-sq-ft facility. Like its Wichita-based parent, Mid-Continent Instruments West is an FAA- and EASA-certified repair station and provides overhaul, repair, exchange and distribution services for instruments, accessories and avionics. Matt Fowle, western regional director for Mid-Continent Instruments, opened the company’s Van Nuys facility 20 years ago. Two years ago the Van Nuys division added avionics repairs to its capabilities and now has 15 benches and many pieces of test equipment dedicated to avionics. Since business peaked in 2007, Fowle said, “I’m having the best year in service ever. We have gotten back to that level.” With new aircraft sales down, owners and operators still need their equipment maintained, he said. “A lot of them are not throwing a bunch of money at panels but are focused on service.”