Avionics News September 2022 - 43

WEBSITE: aviation-research.com
EMPLOYEES: 3
FACILITIES: 4,600 square feet
WHAT THEY DO: Aviation Research
Systems is a Part 145 repair station
that specializes in developing STCs for
Beechcraft Bonanzas.
AEA MEMBER SINCE: 1993
FOUNDED: 1971 by Jerry Forston
and Feleicia Forston
have worked to keep the iconic, longest continuous
production aircraft flying.
Now, after more than 50 years in business, the
Forstons are finally retiring. In May, they sold Aviation
Research Systems to CAS AeroSolutions, a newly
formed commercial MRO based in Ontario, California.
The new owner plans to expand the avionics shop's
capabilities as an authorized Garmin
dealer and branch out into other makes
and models of general aviation aircraft.
To that end, within a year or two, it will
be relocated to Wenatchee, Washington.
" Part of the reason for the acquisition
is to continue the Forstons' legacy,
as well as grow the company to
complement what CAS AeroSolutions
offers, " said Paulina Todd, vice
president of business development and
chief operating officer.
Focused on the
Beechcraft Bonanza
Jerry Forston started the company in
Long Beach, California, at the Long Beach Airport, and
moved it a few years later to Sandy River Airport in Oregon.
" We found an airport - a little grass strip airport
in Sandy, Oregon. We bought the airport and moved
our business here about 36 years ago. It was quite
a big change coming from a big airport to a small
community in rural Oregon, but as it turns out, it was a
very good move, " said Feleicia Forston, who assisted
with the technical drawings and worked with the
Federal Aviation Administration in addition to handling
customer sales and inventory purchasing.
Starting with the bench seat in early model Bonanzas,
Jerry Forston created an STC for individual, sliding,
adjustable pilot and co-pilot seats that replicated
Beechcraft's later model designs.
" Jerry came up with the drawings, using all of the
original manufacturers' equipment, including the parts,
seats and seat tracks, and received FAA approval to put
it in the earlier models, " Feleicia Forston explained.
" In addition to a lot more room and the added ability to
recline, it removed a very heavy seat, seat assembly and
backrest, and replaced them with seats that were lighter
weight, which increased the aircraft's useful load. "
Jerry Forston moved onto the Bonanza's tail cone with
a more streamlined fiberglass stinger design that made the
aircraft marginally more aerodynamic. From an engine
side-mounted battery box and color-coded anodized
aluminum alloy control knobs to an engine modification
that increases the aircraft's cruise speeds and rate of climb,
the couple continued over the years developing hardware
where they saw a need or experienced one themselves.
" The locking fuel cap came about because we had
attended the Reno Air Races one year, and someone -
probably bored kids - put dirt in our tanks, " Feleicia
Forston said. " So we developed fuel caps that are not
only lockable, but you can't even remove the key unless
the cap is seated securely and fully locked. "
Continued on following page
AVIONICS NEWS * SEPTEMBER 2022 43
http://aviation-research.com
Avionics News September 2022

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