Ideal Aerosmith Marks 75th Anniversary With Celebration That Focuses On The Future

2013 is the 75th anniversary of the founding of Ideal Aerosmith, and the company is planning a year-long celebration. In addition to commemorating its past, Ideal Aerosmith's plans include events, keepsakes and activities that focus on the company's future role in avionics technology, domestic energy independence and even space travel.

Ideal Aerosmith was founded in 1938 and has been developing innovative test solutions for the aviation, defense and energy industries ever since. Widely regarded as the world's leader in motion sensing test solutions, many of the world's most important companies utilize Ideal Aerosmith technology every day. In 2012 Ideal Aerosmith was named Business Supplier of the Year by Rockwell Collins. From aviation to defense to directional drilling, companies count on Ideal Aerosmith to help their innovations take shape. Ideal Aerosmith is headquartered in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and has manufacturing and engineering facilities in East Grand Forks, Minnesota; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Menlo Park, California; and Phoenix, Arizona.

“Seventy-five years is a big accomplishment for any company, but in our eyes we are just getting started,” says Greg Owens, executive vice president of Ideal Aerosmith. “We're not about to rest on our laurels. We're proud of what we've helped our customers to accomplish, and we're looking forward to 75 more years of helping them achieve even greater things.”

Moses Koyabe to Chair AUVSI Event

Moses Koyabe

Moses Koyabe, Ideal Aerosmith's Vice President for Business Development, was recently nominated to chair the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Saguaro Chapter committee, organizing and hosting an Unmanned Vehicle Systems (UVS) Exhibition at the 2013 Marine Corps Air Station Yuma Airshow.

The unified UVS display will showcase the variety, capabilities, deployment and use of unmanned vehicles and robotics for ground, maritime, air and space applications. It will not only provide the opportunity for a glimpse of the latest technologies but will also create awareness and inform students, engineers and the general public on the wide range of programs, application domains and career paths available in the rapidly growing fields of robotics, unmanned and optionally piloted systems.

This year’s airshow will be held at the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Arizona on March 9th, 2013. A free general entrance will give attendees access to the UVS display, military and commercial aerial performances and aircraft static displays.

About AUVSI - Representing more than 2,100 companies and organizations from more than 60 countries, the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) is the world’s largest nonprofit organization devoted exclusively to advancing the unmanned systems community.

The mission of AUVSI is to promote and support the unmanned systems and robotics community through communication, education and leadership. By providing opportunities for information exchange, networking and business development, AUVSI forums are the best resource for learning about unmanned systems and robotics while staying abreast of the latest program and technology updates.

With members from government organizations, industry and academia, AUVSI is committed to fostering, developing, and promoting unmanned systems and robotics technologies. The AUVSI Saguaro Chapter extends its focus on community involvement, education, and growing the technology within the state of Arizona providing students with the opportunity to experience fun, hands-on robotics/unmanned systems activities that advance STEM education (science, technology, engineering and math) and new development tracks.

Ideal Aerosmith Named 2012 Business Services Supplier Of The Year By Rockwell Collins

Rockwell Collins recently named Ideal Aerosmith as its 2012 Business Services Supplier of the Year. Ideal Aerosmith designs and manufactures avionics test equipment for Rockwell Collins where reliability, delivery and customer service are critical.



Pictured (from left to right): Jennifer Schultz, Senior Quality Assurance Engineer, Rockwell Collins; Bruce King, Senior Vice President, Operations, Rockwell Collins; Susan Babcock, Senior Subcontract Manager, Rockwell Collins; Kevin Myers, Vice President, Material & Supply, Rockwell Collins; Mick Miller, Senior Test Equipment Engineer, Rockwell Collins; Todd Andrus, Vice President of Program Management, Phoenix, Ideal Aerosmith; Nicole Durbin, Senior Commodity Manager, Rockwell Collins; Darren Stinson, Senior Vice President of Operations, Ideal Aerosmith; Clay Jones, Chairman, President & CEO, Rockwell Collins

An unprecedented number of orders had put Rockwell Collins in a position that required extra help from its vendors. This award illustrates how Ideal Aerosmith was able to answer the challenge. Ideal Aerosmith maintained 100% on-time delivery and 0 DPPM (defective parts per million) for at least 16 straight months. According to Rockwell Collins, Ideal Aerosmith's actions resulted in significant cost avoidance and cycle time reduction. This impressive achievement was the result of a company-wide team effort at Ideal Aerosmith. Individuals from virtually every part of the organization pitched in to make this success story possible, and that “can-do” attitude clearly made an impression.

“Teamwork is very important to Rockwell Collins, and I think that's what makes us such a good fit,” says Greg Owens, Executive Vice President of Ideal Aerosmith. “It took a lot of smart people working together to earn this recognition, and I think that the folks at Rockwell Collins saw that. I'm tremendously proud of everyone in our company, and I feel confident that we're going to make a similar impression on each of our customers in the years to come.”

Darren Stinson, Senior Vice-president of Operations (Grand Forks, North Dakota), and Todd Andrus, Vice President of Program Management (Phoenix, Arizona), accepted the award in a ceremony held by Rockwell Collins. “This award is the culmination of a 10-year relationship with Rockwell Collins,” says Stinson. “It is validation of our intense focus on customer satisfaction. I could not be more proud of our team.”



Robert Mitchell to Present at SPIE Defense Security and Sensing 2012

Robert Mitchell, Business Development Manager for Ideal Aerosmith, Inc., will present a technical paper at this year’s SPIE Conference in April.

Mitchell’s paper, entitled “Performance Parameters in the Design of Flight Motion Simulators,” is a technical paper on the influence of specifications in the configuration of a Flight Motion Simulator (FMS).  As Mitchell explains, desired test performance parameters influence the design of an FMS and affect its size, weight, power, electro-magnetic interference, noise, and vibration. A common desire is to specify requirements that go beyond immediate needs in order to accommodate future test programs. This may directly affect cost and schedule. Critical parameters that affect the FMS design are larger payload sizes, higher accuracies, and higher dynamic requirements.

Mitchell will present his paper on Thursday, April 26, at 9:30 am.

Ideal Aerosmith will also be exhibiting at SPIE 2012 in Baltimore Maryland, April 24th through the 26th. Ideal will feature the Aero 4000 Motion Controller, a digital servo controller designed for Ideal’s present and next generation of Hardware-In-The-Loop Flight Motion Simulators, rate table systems, and precision centrifuges. 

Stop by Ideal's booth, number 2516, to learn more about performance parameters and Ideal Aerosmith’s products.

Congressman Berg Visits Ideal Aerosmith

Ideal Aerosmith welcomed US Congressman Rick Berg to the Grand Forks facility on January 11, 2012. Following a brief introduction to Ideal’s history and global capabilities, Congressman Berg had an opportunity to meet the employees and tour the facility.


Congressman Rick Berg is introduced to Misty Sistad, an

Ideal Aerosmith assembler, by Assembly Manager Brad Ortzman.

Aerospace & Defense Manufacturers Benefit from Turnkey A.T.E Collaboration

October 5, 2011- Grand Forks, North Dakota - Ideal Aerosmith, Inc. is joining forces with Esterline Control Systems – AVISTA to deliver out-of-the-box, complete automatic test equipment (ATE) for aerospace and defense manufacturers. This collaboration allows manufacturers to speed development and certification for their complex components and focus on the development of the end product.

“As aerospace and defense systems become more complex, software is playing a more critical role in driving product functionality,” notes Tom Bragg, vice president of operations for Esterline Control Systems – AVISTA. “Quality product is always imperative, and test equipment helps ensure safety and reliability. Our combined approach offers the industry world-class software, hardware and process innovation to meet the most complex testing needs with greater ease.”

Ideal offers extensive capabilities in hardware systems, including custom test stand development. The AVISTA services team brings broad experience in software development and process improvement. The combination means manufacturers have the best of both worlds for their next-generation avionics and defense ATE.

“Customers face tight development and certification timelines, and are always looking for ways to improve efficiencies,” adds Darren Stinson, senior vice president of test services for Ideal Aerosmith, Inc. “We’ve always prided ourselves on listening to our customers’ and understanding the complexity of their test needs. By joining forces with AVISTA services, we can help customers deliver on time, as well as with greater quality, precision and completeness.”

About Ideal Aerosmith, Inc.

Ideal Aerosmith engineers world-class motion and electronic test solutions. The company has been providing innovative test solutions since its founding in 1938 by a group of former airline maintenance personnel. In addition to a full line of motion systems, Ideal Aerosmith’s capabilities include full turnkey services in the design, manufacture, and field support of aerospace Automatic Test Equipment (ATE). Ideal Aerosmith is an ISO 9001:2008 certified company. www.ideal-aerosmith.com

About Esterline Control Systems – AVISTA

For almost 25 years, AVISTA services have been trusted by leading companies in aerospace, defense and medical electronics needing safety-critical software and systems engineering support. The organization is rated CMMI Level 5, the industry benchmark for software quality, as well as ISO 9001:2008. AVISTA Incorporated is part of the Esterline Control Systems group and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Esterline Corporation (NYSE:ESL, www.esterline.com), a specialized aerospace and defense company headquartered in Bellevue, Washington.

Senator Franken Tours Ideal Aerosmith

United States Senator Al Franken, D-Minn., visited Ideal Aerosmith’s facility in East Grand Forks, MN, on January 10, 2011. After meeting many of the employees, Senator Franken was interested in discussing with Management the kind of opportunities and challenges high-tech companies face as they compete in a world-wide marketplace.

When asked about Ideal Aerosmith, he stated, “This kind of high-tech manufacturers are really, to me, the future for Minnesota and for North Dakota.” Senator Franken also stated that more jobs, like Ideal Aerosmith provides, are needed in Minnesota and throughout the region and the country.