Sims Aviation

What Sims Aviation does

Sims Aviation, Inc. is an FAA-, EASA-, and UK CAA-certified aircraft instrument repair station headquartered in Carrollton, Texas, founded in 1998. The company provides testing, repair, overhaul, and exchange services for aircraft instruments across manufacturers including Allied Signal, Honeywell, I.D.C., Kollsman, Rockwell Collins, and L3 Communications, with technical specialties in electronic gyros, flight directors, engine instruments, and air data instruments. Its certifications cover Instrument Class I, II, III, IV plus limited radio, accessories, and airframe ratings, and it additionally offers RVSM-compliant field and line service work.

The business operates a direct, sales-led go-to-market with quote-based pricing, phone-based technical support, and an Exchange Program that provides overhauled units in exchange for customer cores with a 1-year warranty. Customer segments span military contracts (it holds a CAGE code), simulator manufacturers, major airlines, and general aviation operators, with global service reach enabled by FAA, EASA, and UK CAA approvals. The company is privately held as a Texas S-Corp with no disclosed institutional investors, and its management team consists of President Minh Nguyen, Vice President Jeff Hodgson, and COO/Sales Manager Traci Hodgson, supported by technical staff averaging 25+ years of hands-on experience and a combined 100+ years of industry tenure.

Revenue is not publicly disclosed, and the company has no disclosed funding rounds, M&A activity, or active product roadmap signals. Its competitive position rests on multi-jurisdictional regulatory approvals, an extensive parts capabilities list covering thousands of instrument part numbers, deep technician experience, and an exchange pool that minimizes aircraft downtime for operators.

Name

Sims Aviation

Legal name

Sims Aviation, Inc.

Website

https://simsaviation.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sims Aviation is an FAA-, EASA-, and UK CAA-certified aircraft instrument repair station in Carrollton, Texas, providing testing, overhaul, and exchange services for gyros, flight directors, altimeters, and other avionics to military, commercial, and general aviation operators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aviation MRO Services

NAICS

Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance (811210)

SIC

Instruments For Meas & Testing Of Electricity & Elec Signals (3825)

akta.pro primary industry

Component MRO (Avionics, Hydraulics, Pneumatics, Electrical) (TLAKAJAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Modification, Retrofit & Engineering (STC, Avionics Upgrades, Conversions) (TLAKAJAI)

Keywords

• Aircraft instrument repair
• Avionics overhaul services
• Instrument exchange program
• FAA repair station
• RVSM compliance services

Headquarters

HQ city

Addison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Instrument Repair Services: Aircraft instrument repair and overhaul services for various manufacturers including gyros, flight directors, airspeeds, altimeters, and other aviation instruments. Services backed by 1-year warranty on overhauled units.
2. Instrument Exchange: Fast instrument exchange program to minimize aircraft downtime. Provides overhauled units in exchange for customer cores. Core fee collected up front with policies governing return timelines and condition requirements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Sims Aviation operates as an FAA/EASA/UK CAA approved aircraft instrument repair station providing testing, repair, overhaul, and exchange services for aircraft instruments including electronic gyros, flight directors, engine instruments, air data instruments, altimeters, airspeeds, and other avionics from manufacturers such as Honeywell, Rockwell Collins, Allied Signal, L3 Communications, Kollsman, and I.D.C. The firm also offers RVSM field and line services and maintains thousands of instrument and component repair capabilities.

Product overview

Sims Aviation operates as an FAA/EASA approved aircraft instrument repair station offering a unified service portfolio centered on repair, overhaul, and exchange of aircraft instruments. The core offerings consist of Instrument Repair Services, Instrument Overhaul Services, and an Instrument Exchange Program — all designed to minimize aircraft downtime and keep operators flying safely. The company supports a vast range of instruments across multiple manufacturers (Allied Signal, Honeywell, I.D.C., Kollsman, Rockwell Collins, L3 Communications, Bendix/King, Collins, Sperry, Smiths, and others) and instrument types including electronic gyros, flight directors, engine instruments, air data instruments, altimeters, tachometers, and radio magnetic indicators. An RVSM field and line service add-on addresses regulatory compliance needs. The company maintains an extensive parts capabilities list with thousands of part numbers and unlimited instrumentation certification.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Aircraft Instrument Repair Services
• Aircraft Instrument Overhaul Services
• Instrument Exchange Program
• RVSM Field and Line Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Thousands of instrument and component repair capabilities

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Allied SignalcoreTechnology or IntegrationMajor aircraft instrument manufacturer whose products are serviced by Sims Aviation for repair and overhaul.
• HoneywellcoreTechnology or IntegrationMajor aircraft instrument manufacturer whose products are serviced by Sims Aviation for repair and overhaul.
• I.D.C.coreTechnology or IntegrationAircraft instrument manufacturer whose products are serviced by Sims Aviation for repair and overhaul.
• KollsmancoreTechnology or IntegrationAircraft instrument manufacturer whose products are serviced by Sims Aviation for repair and overhaul.
• Rockwell CollinscoreTechnology or IntegrationMajor aircraft avionics manufacturer whose products are serviced by Sims Aviation for repair and overhaul.
• L3 CommunicationscoreTechnology or IntegrationMajor aircraft instrument manufacturer whose products are serviced by Sims Aviation for repair and overhaul.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Duncan Aviation: One of the largest independent business aviation MRO providers in North America, with extensive avionics instrument repair and overhaul capabilities. Comparable because they operate as a large-scale independent repair station for aircraft instruments and avionics, though across a much broader service portfolio.
• Honeywell Aerospace: OEM of aircraft instruments and avionics (including legacy Allied Signal/Bendix/King product lines) with global service center network. Comparable because they manufacture and overhaul the same instrument families (Honeywell, Allied Signal) that Sims Aviation services independently.
• Collins Aerospace: Major OEM of avionics and aircraft instruments (formerly Rockwell Collins) with proprietary service centers that overhaul and repair their own products. Comparable because they service the same instrument families (Rockwell Collins/Collins avionics) that Sims Aviation services as a third party.
• StandardAero: Global independent MRO provider offering avionics, instrument, and component repair across multiple aircraft platforms. Comparable because they share the third-party FAA/EASA-approved repair station model and operate at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Gulf Coast Avionics: Avionics shop providing repair, overhaul, and installation services for aircraft instruments. Comparable because they operate the same FAA-approved independent repair station model for instrument/avionics servicing in a regional US market.
• Southeast Aerospace: Avionics sales, repair, and overhaul provider with FAA/EASA-approved repair station status. Comparable because they offer repair, overhaul, and exchange programs for aircraft instruments from multiple OEMs — a directly overlapping service model.
• FieldTech Avionics & Instruments: An FAA-certified repair station specializing in aircraft instrument and avionics repair, overhaul, and exchange. Comparable because they serve the same customer base (airlines, general aviation, military) with the same core service: bench-level instrument overhaul.
• A.E.R.O. (Aviation Instrument Repair): Independent FAA-approved repair station specializing exclusively in aircraft instrument repair and overhaul. Comparable because they occupy the same niche: small, specialized third-party instrument overhaul shop with multi-OEM capabilities.
• Pacific Coast Avionics: Independent avionics repair station and installer serving general aviation and commercial operators on the US West Coast. Comparable because they perform instrument repair, overhaul, and exchange as their core offering to a similar customer mix.

Emerging players

• FreeFlight Systems: Manufacturer of avionics and navigation equipment with installation and certification capabilities for commercial and general aviation. Comparable as a smaller-scale avionics specialist, though primarily a manufacturer rather than a third-party repair station.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/Sims-Aviation-Inc/104148369651901

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sims Aviation