What Flying S does

Flying S Inc is a privately held, vertically integrated aerospace contract manufacturer founded in 2001 by David and Penny Shaw in Palestine, Illinois. The company serves the aerospace, aviation, and space industries by providing custom manufacturing of composite airframe structures and metallic CNC machined components, with disclosed end-use including NASA space-flight hardware and components for various aerospace OEMs. Operating from a 30,000+ ft2 climate-controlled facility on the Shaw family farm in rural Crawford County, Illinois, with a team of approximately 140 employees as of 2022, Flying S executes the full project lifecycle in-house: engineering design (including 3D CAD, composites design, and FEA via a partnership with Structural Design and Analysis, Inc.), CNC machining (5-axis pallet systems with lights-out automation, gantry routers, lathe work), carbon fiber composite fabrication (automated CNC ply cutting, overhead laser projection, 45'x10' vacuum oven curing up to 500°F, pressure bladder molding of hollow 3D structures), and inspection/QA (CMM, laser tracking, Dolphicam2 ultrasound NDT, and a ProShop + High QA integrated ERP/QMS). The company is ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D certified (valid through 2029), enabling it to qualify as a supplier to tier-1 aerospace primes and government agencies.

The business operates a project-based, quote-priced contract manufacturing model — revenue is generated through custom project work rather than recurring contracts, products, or subscription pricing, and customer identities outside of NASA are kept confidential. GTM is sales-led and relationship-driven; the company maintains a corporate airplane for rapid travel to customers in Washington DC and other locations. There is no public pricing, no disclosed revenue, no institutional funding, and no acquisition history — the company has grown organically from a self-built hangar barn consultancy to ~140 employees over roughly two decades, with the only significant corporate event being the 2012 relocation to its current larger facility when the team reached 15 people. An unrelated Flying S Beef subsidiary (organic beef and chicken from the family farm) functions as an employee/community benefit and is not a material commercial line. The company runs workforce-development programs (school tours, CEO program, Cadets/Rookies summer workshops) to build a local advanced-manufacturing talent pipeline.

Name

Flying S

Legal name

Flying S Inc

Website

https://flying-s.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Flying S Inc is a privately held aerospace contract manufacturer in Palestine, Illinois, providing vertically integrated CNC machining, carbon fiber composite fabrication, engineering, and inspection services to aerospace OEMs and NASA for aviation and space-flight hardware production.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aerospace Contract Manufacturing

NAICS

Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing (336413), Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing (33641)

SIC

Aircraft & Parts (3720), Aircraft Parts & Auxiliary Equipment, Nec (3728)

akta.pro primary industry

Primary Airframe Structures (Fuselage, Wing, Empennage) (IMABAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Military Aircraft Structures, Airframes & Composites (IMABAMAH), Nacelles, Fairings & Aerodynamic Structures (IMABAEAE)

Keywords

• Aerospace contract manufacturing
• Carbon fiber composite fabrication
• CNC machining services
• Rapid prototype manufacturing
• Aerospace engineering design

Headquarters

HQ city

Palestine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Custom Manufacturing Services: Contract manufacturing services for aerospace and aviation customers. Flying S creates complete manufacturing solutions including composite airframe structures and metallic CNC machined components. Revenue is generated through project-based contracts with aerospace companies, government agencies (NASA), and other aviation industry customers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Flying S is an aerospace contract manufacturer that delivers complete design-to-production manufacturing solutions, including rapid prototyping, CNC machining of metallic components (5-axis, multi-axis, gantry), carbon fiber composite airframe structure fabrication, engineering design, and inspection and quality assurance. The company takes projects from raw materials to painted finished product in-house, serving aerospace OEMs, aviation companies, and government agencies such as NASA. Revenue is generated through project-based contracts for custom composite and metallic aerospace components, including UAV, space flight, and aviation hardware.

Product overview

Flying S Inc is primarily an engineering company that creates complete manufacturing solutions for the aviation and aerospace industry. The company offers a vertically integrated suite of manufacturing services including rapid prototype manufacturing, CNC machining, carbon fiber composite fabrication, engineering design, and inspection/quality assurance. Their approximately 140-member team operates from a 30,000+ ft2 climate-controlled facility, capable of taking projects from raw materials through design, fabrication, assembly, inspection, and painted finished product under one roof. The company primarily serves aerospace and aviation customers, including projects for NASA and space applications, but maintains confidentiality around specific client programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Flying S Beef: Organic beef and chicken products from the Shaw family farm, offered as employee benefits and sold to the public through www.flyingsbeef.com

Products and services

• Rapid Prototype Manufacturing Full-service rapid prototype manufacturing for aerospace and aviation applications, capable of fabricating carbon fiber aircraft wings, intricate molds, and machined parts from raw materials to finished painted product. Designed for aerospace OEMs, aviation manufacturers, and government programs needing fast concept-to-production hardware.
• CNC Machining Services CNC machining capabilities including 5-axis milling, multi-axis production cells, lathe operations, and gantry routers, producing flight hardware, UAV components, and space flight components from aluminum, titanium, and exotic alloys. Targets aerospace customers needing flight-qualified metallic components.
• Carbon Fiber Composite Fabrication Composite airframe structure fabrication including OOA prepreg, wet lay, solid laminate, foam core, and honeycomb core processing with automated ply cutting, laser projection, and precision oven curing up to 500°F. Serves aerospace customers building flight hardware and UAV/space flight components.
• Engineering Design Services Engineering capabilities including aerospace and mechanical structural design, composites design, 3D CAD parametric modeling, finite element analysis, and data acquisition for static and dynamic testing of prototypes. Supports aerospace customers from concept through structural validation.
• Inspection and Quality Assurance Comprehensive inspection services including CMM millionth-level measurement, Leica and FARO laser tracking, non-destructive testing via Dolphicam2 ultrasound imaging, and a full quality management system compliant with ISO 9001 / AS9100. Used by aerospace and aviation customers requiring certified inspection of flight hardware.

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Structural Design and Analysis, Inc.supportingTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for finite element analysis of aerospace composite structures. Flying S collaborates with Structural Design and Analysis, Inc. (structures.aero) for advanced structural analysis capabilities that complement their manufacturing expertise.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• TPI Composites: Large-scale independent composites manufacturer producing composite wind blades and select aerospace/automotive composite structures. Closely comparable to Flying S in being a contract composites shop serving demanding OEM customers, though at much greater scale and with a different end-market mix.

Broad incumbents

• Spirit AeroSystems: Tier 1 airframe structures manufacturer producing fuselages, wings, and propulsion structures for Boeing, Airbus, and defense customers. Overlaps with Flying S in primary composite and metallic airframe structures, but at vastly greater scale and with prime-contractor preferred-supplier status.
• Kaman Aerospace: Diversified aerospace manufacturer producing aerostructures, bearings, and proprietary aircraft (K-MAX). Comparable to Flying S in CNC machining and complex aerospace component manufacturing, but with a multi-site footprint and a much broader product portfolio.
• Hexcel: Leading advanced composites manufacturer of carbon fiber reinforcements, prepregs, and honeycomb core for aerospace and industrial markets. Comparable in composites expertise, but operates as a materials supplier upstream of part fabricators like Flying S.
• Triumph Group: Tier 2 aerospace supplier of aerostructures, mechanical systems, and aftermarket support to commercial and military OEMs. Comparable in providing metallic and composite structural parts with AS9100-certified quality systems, though at substantially greater scale and with global facilities.

Emerging players

• Rocket Lab: Space launch and space systems company manufacturing its own rockets, satellites, and space hardware. Comparable to Flying S as a buyer-side analog of space-flight hardware manufacturing and a potential customer for specialty composite and CNC parts.
• Joby Aviation: eVTOL aircraft developer manufacturing composite-intensive airframes at scale. Relevant peer for Flying S's composite airframe fabrication expertise and AS9100D credentials, though Joby is a customer-competitor that also in-houses composites work.
• AeroVironment: Designer and manufacturer of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for defense and commercial markets. Comparable to Flying S in producing composite airframe structures and precision CNC components for UAVs, with overlap in customer base and quality requirements.
• Firefly Aerospace: End-to-end space transportation company building launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital transfer vehicles. Overlaps with Flying S's space-flight hardware manufacturing exposure and represents a potential customer for advanced composite and CNC-machined flight structures.

Others

• Syensqo (Solvay Composite Materials): Supplier of advanced composite materials, adhesives, and surfacing films for aerospace. Comparable to Flying S only as a composites ecosystem participant, but not a competitor — instead, a potential materials partner for OOA prepreg and specialty layup work.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Flying-S-Inc-100063474722578

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Flying S