ABOUT MIDWEST PANEL BUILDERS

Built on Family. Driven by Aviation.

Midwest Panel Builders started with a shared passion for aviation and an idea between a father and son. What began as Steve and Adam combining their experience, skills, and love of aircraft has grown into a family-owned and operated company serving experimental aircraft builders and pilots around the world.

As pilots ourselves, aviation has always been more than a business to us. We understand the excitement, challenges, and countless decisions that go into building an aircraft because we live it ourselves. That experience influences everything we do—from designing complete avionics and electrical systems to building wiring harnesses, fabricating panels, supplying avionics, and supporting our customers throughout their projects.

Over the years, Midwest Panel Builders has grown in both capability and experience, but our approach hasn’t changed. We work hard, continually challenge ourselves to improve, and take pride in doing things the right way. Every project that leaves our shop carries our name, and we want it to reflect the level of workmanship and attention to detail we would expect in our own aircraft.

Most importantly, we’re still a family company. Midwest Panel Builders was built with the hope of creating something that could last for generations, and we’re proud of the relationships we’ve built with customers who have become part of the Midwest Panel Builders family along the way.

OUR MISSION

Built Right. Supported Beyond the Sale.

Our mission is to provide aircraft builders and pilots with trusted avionics, thoughtfully designed systems, quality craftsmanship, and the support to bring it all together.

We believe a great avionics system is more than the equipment in the panel. It starts with understanding how you plan to use your aircraft and continues through system design, equipment selection, wiring, fabrication, configuration, installation, and support. Every detail matters.

Whether we’re building your complete avionics and electrical system, providing the pieces to help you build it, or supplying the products for your own installation, our goal remains the same: provide the right solution for your aircraft and stand behind it with real knowledge and support.

We don’t believe you should have to choose between form and function. A well-designed panel should perform exceptionally, be intuitive to use, be built for long-term serviceability, and look like it belongs in your aircraft.

WHAT INSPIRES US

Always Looking for a Better Way.

We’re inspired by people who build, create, question, and aren’t afraid to do things differently. That same mindset is at the heart of experimental aviation—and it’s what continues to push us forward at Midwest Panel Builders.

Every aircraft and every builder brings something different to the table. A customer’s idea, a challenging installation, new technology, or simply asking “Is there a better way to do this?” can lead to the next improvement in how we design and build our systems.

Inspired by the people who build.
Driven to build it better.

We’re also inspired by the details most people may never see. The wiring behind the panel, the routing of a harness, the organization of a system, and the quality of a fabricated part matter just as much to us as the finished panel everyone sees. Doing it right when no one is looking is part of who we are.

Most of all, we’re inspired by our customers. Every aircraft represents someone’s time, investment, imagination, and dream of flying. Being trusted to play a part in bringing that aircraft to life is something we don’t take lightly—and it continues to push us to learn, improve, and build better every day.

HOW WE BEGAN

From a Love of Flying to Midwest Panel Builders

The story behind Midwest Panel Builders really begins in the mid-1990s at Romeo Airport in Michigan. I remember sitting there watching airplanes and realizing that flying didn’t have to remain something I dreamed about—I could actually do it.

I found an instructor at a nearby airport with a Cessna 150, started taking lessons, and quickly fell in love with aviation. Before long, I earned my Private Pilot License.

As life moved forward and I had a family to think about, flying became less of a priority for a while. But aviation never really went away. As my son Adam got older, he developed a strong interest in aviation of his own—and that eventually brought both of us back into it in a much bigger way.

It Started With a 737

B737 Simulator

The 737-800 simulator that rekindled my passion for aviation and helped start the journey to Midwest Panel Builders.

One of our first projects together was a full-scale static Boeing 737

simulator. At the time, it was simply something we wanted to build. Looking back, it was one of the first signs of what was to come: taking an idea, figuring out how all the pieces needed to work together, and then building it.

Completing the simulator rekindled my passion for flying. I went on to earn my instrument rating, commercial certificate, CFI, and eventually my CFII, and later partnered with a flight school in Lapeer, Michigan.

That journey eventually led to another opportunity. With the help of

a local aircraft builder, I started Midwest Sky Sports, focused on building experimental aircraft. Along the way, we discovered Sling Aircraft. After researching the airplanes and get

ting the opportunity to fly them, we knew we had found something special.

Then Came the Avionics

Building airplanes introduced a new challenge: avionics and electri

cal systems.

Fortunately, this happened to be an area where Adam excelled. He already had a strong background and natural ability with electrical systems and electronics. When it came time to determine how we were going to equip and wire our first Sling, Adam was convinced he could take it on.

He dove into the project—researching the equipment, developing the system architecture, working through the wiring diagrams and panel layout, sourcing components, and figuring out how everything needed to integrate into the aircraft.

He proved pretty quickly that he was right.

With every aircraft that followed, the systems became more refined, the capabilities expanded, and the process continued to improve. What began as solving the avionics needs for our own aircraft builds started attracting attention from other builders who wanted the same level of integration in their airplanes.

Midwest Panel Builders Was Born

Eventually, what started as one part of our aircraft-building operation became a business of its own.

Today, Midwest Panel Builders has grown far beyond those first s

ystems. We design and build complete avionics and electrical systems, custom panels and wiring harnesses, provide engineering and fabrication services, and supply avionics, electrical components, and installation materials to experimental aircraft builders.

A lot has changed since those first days at the airport and that 737 simulator. But the part that matters hasn’t changed much at all.

We’re still a father and son who love aviation, enjoy figuring out how things work, and believe there’s always a better way to build something.