Lenoir City, Tenn. In 1985, as Ronald Reagan began his second term as President and pop stars recorded “We are the World” for famine relief, a young engineer went to work in a basement to solve a problem; conversations in a small airplane cockpit are uncomfortable at best, impossible at worst.
Mark Scheuer sketched some circuits, connected some parts, and ultimately started a business called PS Engineering. PS Engineering was initially a generic name, but 40 years later, it stands as a standard in aircraft audio performance, utility, and value.
In 1985, a Seattle-based computer company introduced something called “Windows” as an operating system to make PCs easier to use, like the year-old Apple Macintosh. 40 years later, Windows and Apple are still creating news with ever increasing capability and innovation, just like PS Engineering.
The first intercoms were sold out of the trunk of a car, at airshows and eventually through a small ad in Trade-a-Plane. The grass-roots marketing was boosted by word-of-mouth popularity and one critical factor; the things worked better than anything else available at the time. Innovations, such as independently gated microphones, outperformed any competition, and gained recognition in the aviation community.
By the time George H. W. Bush takes the White House, PS Engineering took the next step, and introduced the PM1000 (Panel Mount) intercom. This lead to FAA certification of the product and the manufacturing facility, and the company moved into more and bigger airplanes and markets.
After 10 years, the company took on another project where performance was lacking, the audio control panel. Until that time, audio panels were a collection of switches, and a place to park the marker beacon receiver. Functional, but not value added to the cockpit experience. In 1995, the PMA6000 combined the performance of the popular PM1000 intercom with an audio selector panel and marker beacon.
Less than two years later, in 1998, PS Engineering introduced another revolution with IntelliVox®, a patented automatic intercom squelch protocol. It has been called just plain magic by some pilots. By eliminating the need to fiddle with manual intercom squelch, conversations in the cockpit become comfortable and reliable, improving the flight experience.
While there were several innovations between 1998 and 2006, the introduction of world first Bluetooth(R) enabled audio panel was one of those functions that changed how pilots operated their avionics. If it was good enough for a car, why not in an aircraft.
IN 2014, IntelliAudio(R) was introduced. The ability to place Com 1 in one position and Com 2 in a different position, within a stereo headset, really changed the dynamics of aircraft radio communications. Thanks to the support of the USAF Wright Patterson Airforce Base, PS Engineering entered a CRADA that brought their patented technology to General Aviation by way of the PMA450.
Each of the company’s products is the result of listening to the customers and dealers, a relationship that is built on the personal contact of Mark Scheuer and his team. Forty years has seen many changes in aviation and the world, but PS Engineering’s commitment to innovation and the “voice of the customer” has not deviated from the days of walking around the airshow grounds telling their story and proving their worth.