Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

Heico’s Electronic Technologies group is acquiring an 88% stake in business jet power and entertainment components specialist Mid Continent Controls (MC2). While details of the acquisition were not disclosed, Heico said the agreement calls for cash at closing and that key MC2 managers would own the remaining portion of the company. The aerospace services and supply conglomerate further expects the deal to be accretive to its earnings within a year.
Analyst Jefferies estimated that MC2 could contribute about $15 million in annual sales to Heico and provide a greater footprint in the business jet market. While Heico did not share profitability details, Jefferies noted that the company has established a threshold of more than 20% EBIT for its transactions. This acquisition is the fourth for Heico in the past year.
Based in Derby, Kansas, MC2 designs and manufactures in-cabin power and entertainment components, including power outlets, power distribution modules, cabin management systems, multimedia connectivity ports, seat controls, and switch panels. The company furnishes hundreds of niche parts on a range of business aircraft, both in-production and through the aftermarket.
Thomas Hemphill, son of MC2 founder Rick Hemphill, will remain at the helm of MC2 as president, as will general manager Mike Freel. Both will remain shareholders. Meanwhile, the elder Hemphill, who established the company in 1996, will serve as a consultant. Heico added that “it does not expect material Team Member turnover to result from the acquisition.” MC2 employs about 60.
MC2 will be part of Heico’s Radiant Power group, which is in some of the same markets. “Mid-Continent Controls is a very special company known for excellent products, quality, and customer service,” said Heico chairman and CEO Laurans Mendelson, president Victor Mendelson, and Radiant Power president Anish Patel in a joint statement. “Their approach to business and their entrepreneurial energy are exactly what we look for in acquisitions.”

News and developments about everything that goes into the cabin of an aircraft, from floor coverings to headliners, with a special emphasis on in-flight entertainment, communications and other electronics for passengers. If it is in the cabin of an aircraft, it’s covered here.

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