Howell Instruments, Inc.

Howell Instruments, Inc. designs, builds and supports aviation instrumentation and avionics from its facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The company was founded in 1951 as B & H Instruments by John S. Howell III, a WWII pilot whose patented JETCAL Analyzer tested temperature indicating systems on the B-36 bomber. It serves military, commercial and helicopter operators and marked its 75th anniversary in 2026.

Products

• Engine and aircraft system test equipment, including JETCAL Analyzers, the H337N engine tester and the H394R TEMPCAL tester
• Data acquisition systems: H397 series Data Acquisition Unit, H697 Configuration Module Units and redundant display units
• Indicators and avionics suites
• Glass cockpit upgrades for the UH-60 Black Hawk, including the H698 and H410 dual redundant displays, which have received TSO authorization

Services

• Engineering support for certification from Technical Standard Order (TSO) through Type Certificate and Supplemental Type Certificate work, covering electrical and electronic design, embedded software, mechanical design and technical documentation
• Production with in-house fabrication: CNC lathes and milling centres, injection molding, metal forming, PCB assembly with automated pick and place, and X-ray inspection
• Avionics repair and overhaul at its FAA and EASA Part 145 repair station, with obsolescence management
• Ground support equipment repair and overhaul for any brand or model, with 98 percent of repairs done on site according to the company

Certifications and approvals

• FAA Part 145 and EASA Part 145 repair station
• ISO 9001:2015, AS9100D and AS9110C

Company facts

• Delivered its first data acquisition suite to MD Helicopters in 2017
• Modernized the UH-60 fleet of Capitol Helicopters, with a cockpit designed and prototyped in under 60 days and more than 1,300 man-hours of work
• Holds its first UH-60 cockpit STC, acquired in 2024