Airshow to Buy Aviation Systems Maker

Airshow Inc., the Tustin maker of in-flight passenger information and television systems, said Monday that it will buy Pacific Systems Corp. of Kirkland, Wash., a major manufacturer of avionics equipment for corporate and private aircraft.

Pacific Systems, founded in 1979, will become an operating unit of Airshow. Combining the two companies will provide customers a single source for in-cabin electronic controls and information and entertainment systems, Airshow President Dennis Ferguson said.

Terms of the cash deal were not disclosed. Pacific Systems is private, while Airshow is a unit of Dynatech Corp. of Burlington, Mass. Its over-the-counter stock closed Monday at $3.88 a share, down 13 cents.

Pacific Systems, which has 130 employees and annual sales of about $14 million, makes a variety of general aviation components. It specializes in integrated systems that control temperature, lighting, communication and entertainment features in the passenger and cockpit sections of aircraft cabins.

Airshow, founded in 1980, has 70 employees and about $55 million in annual sales. The company is a leading provider of moving map displays and real-time information for aircraft crews and passengers.

The company has systems in service on more than 100 airlines worldwide and nearly 3,000 corporate aircraft. Its newest product is an integrated system for real-time reception of satellite-transmitted television signals on aircraft that are in flight.

David Smout, a co-owner of Pacific Systems, said selling the company to Airshow was “the next logical step” in its growth. The combined companies will focus on development of software-based products for voice, data and visual communication on board private and commercial aircraft.

Pacific will remain in Washington. Smout and co-owner David Garing will become vice presidents of Airshow.