King Radio Corporation was an
avionics
Avionics (a blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the hundreds of systems that are fit ...
company started by Ed King, Jr (1921–2012). King was an engineering student at
Kansas State University. In 1948 he founded his first company manufacturing components for
Arthur A. Collins of
Collins Radio
Rockwell Collins was a multinational corporation headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, providing avionics and information technology systems and services to government agencies and aircraft manufacturers. It was formed when the Collins Radio Compa ...
. After selling his first venture in 1959, King founded King Radio in a rural area outside
Kansas City. The company was moved shortly after its formation to a plant in
Olathe, Kansas
Olathe ( ) is the county seat of Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the fourth-most populous city in both the Kansas City metropolitan area and the state of Kansas, with a 2020 population of 141,290.
History 19th century
Olathe wa ...
. It was later purchased by
Allied Corporation
Allied Corp. was a major American company with operations in the chemical, aerospace, automotive, oil and gas industries. It was initially formed in 1920 as the Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation as an amalgamation of five chemical companies. In ...
and merged with
Bendix Corporation in 1985 to form
Bendix/King. Today it is part of
Honeywell International Inc
Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance mat ...
.
Products
A King KY197 Comm radio (top) in a Yankee panel
King Radio was a manufacturer of
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
avionics
Avionics (a blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the hundreds of systems that are fit ...
and aviation gauges and indicators. It was a major avionics supplier of
Cessna,
Piper
Piper may refer to:
People
* Piper (given name)
* Piper (surname)
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters Comics
* Piper (Morlock), in the Marvel Universe
* Piper (Mutate), in the Marvel Universe
Television
* Piper Chapman, lea ...
, and
Beechcraft
Beechcraft is an American brand of civil aviation and military aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of Beech Aircraft Corporation, an American manufacturer of general avi ...
.
The success of King Radio began with the highly popular KY 90 VHF communications radio, known for its clarity and low cost. Over the years King Radio produced many hits such as the KDF 800
Automatic Direction Finder and the KX 155 Navigation/Communication radio. Many of these products can still be found on aircraft flying today.
In 1970 King Radio released the KX 175 the first low cost all solid state VHF navigation and communications unit with TSO design approval, which was the first affordable general aviation digitally synthesized radio, which together with its derivatives, the KX170B and KX 175B, became what is known as the most reliable radio of its times, for use in general aviation.
Acquisition
In 1983, King Radio was acquired by the
Allied Corporation
Allied Corp. was a major American company with operations in the chemical, aerospace, automotive, oil and gas industries. It was initially formed in 1920 as the Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation as an amalgamation of five chemical companies. In ...
, which also purchased
Bendix Aviation
Bendix Corporation is an American manufacturing and engineering company which, during various times in its existence, made automotive brake shoes and systems, vacuum tubes, aircraft brakes, aeronautical hydraulics and electric power systems, av ...
that same year. The combined company was called
Bendix/King.
Allied Corporation
Allied Corp. was a major American company with operations in the chemical, aerospace, automotive, oil and gas industries. It was initially formed in 1920 as the Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation as an amalgamation of five chemical companies. In ...
merged with the
Signal Companies
In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...
in 1985 to form
AlliedSignal. That company later merged with
Honeywell
Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...
, and retained the use of the Honeywell name.
The BendixKing brand has remained popular with aviation enthusiasts, and both AlliedSignal and Honeywell have used the brand on their general aviation products to this day.
References
External links
The Ed King Story* http://www.bendixking.com
{{Honeywell
Aircraft engineering companies
Avionics companies
Honeywell
Technology companies established in 1959
Technology companies disestablished in 1983
Bendix Corporation