Castleberry Instruments & Avionics (CIA) home Call (928) 537-8400 Request a quote
Round-dial flight instruments in a Robinson R44 Raven II helicopter panel: turn coordinator, altimeter, attitude indicator, airspeed indicator, vertical speed indicator and directional gyro

Aircraft instrument repair & overhaul

Precision bench repair and complete overhaul for the flight instruments and engine gauges already in your panel, for fleets, agencies, flight schools and private owners.

Request a quote Call (928) 537-8400

Repair or overhaul

Repair vs. overhaul: what's the difference?

Both keep the instrument you already own in service. The difference is scope: a repair corrects a specific problem, while an overhaul restores the complete instrument.

Targeted

Repair

Find the fault and fix it.

Scope: the problem you're seeing

What it addresses

A specific problem with an instrument that has otherwise been reliable, such as an erratic or sluggish indication, a warning flag that won't clear, unusual noise, or a knob or lighting issue.

What's involved

Troubleshooting on the bench to find the cause, then correcting it and confirming the instrument operates properly before it ships back to you.

Choose it when

  • One problem has shown up and the rest of the instrument is in good shape
  • You want the most economical way back into service
Request a repair

Complete

Overhaul

Restore the whole instrument.

Scope: the entire instrument

What it addresses

The whole instrument, not just the symptom: wear and age throughout the unit, including problems that haven't shown up in the panel yet.

What's involved

The instrument is disassembled, cleaned, inspected, repaired as necessary, reassembled and tested.

Choose it when

  • The instrument has high time or an unknown history
  • It has several problems, or keeps coming back for the same one
  • It has been in storage, or you're restoring a panel
Request an overhaul

Not sure which your instrument needs? That's what our evaluation is for. Send us the make, model and part number and describe what it's doing, and we'll recommend the right path.

When downtime matters, an instrument exchange may be the right fit. And when a repair no longer makes sense, we can supply a new instrument or avionics upgrade.

How it works

How a ship-in repair or overhaul works

Five steps from your panel to our bench in Show Low and back, whether you're sending a single instrument or supporting a whole fleet.

Step 01 / 05

Request service or a quote

Send a service request online or call the shop at (928) 537-8400. Tell us what the instrument is and what it's doing, and we'll confirm it's on our capabilities list and talk through repair, overhaul, exchange or replacement.

Request a quote

Have this ready

  • Manufacturer and model
  • Part number from the data plate
  • What the instrument is doing, or not doing
  • Your company, name, phone and email

Step 02 / 05

Ship it to our Show Low shop

Pack the instrument carefully and ship it to our instrument shop in Show Low, Arizona. Our packing guide covers gyros and pitot-static instruments; if you have questions before you ship, call or email us first.

Where to ship it

Ship to

Castleberry Instruments & Avionics
700 N. 40th Street
Show Low, AZ 85901

Step 03 / 05

We evaluate it on the bench

Our technicians evaluate the instrument to find the cause of the problem and check its overall condition. We'll talk through what we found and recommend a repair or an overhaul, and you choose how to proceed.

Repair or overhaul?

  • Repair corrects a specific fault.
  • Overhaul restores the complete instrument.
Compare the two

Step 04 / 05

We repair or overhaul it

Our technicians carry out the service you choose and test the instrument before it's packed for the trip back.

By instrument type

Step 05 / 05

Back to you, ready for the panel

Your instrument is packed with care and shipped back to you, ready to go back in the panel.

Request a quote

Questions along the way?

Expanded bench repairs

Engine gauges and flight instruments

Beyond our avionics upgrades, our shop has a dedicated team of master technicians who specialize in classic precision bench work: maintenance, calibration and repair for a long, trusted list of instruments, from the classic six-pack to engine gauges.

Photos of our clean-room environment are on the way.

5,000+ instruments on our capabilities list, from many manufacturers

Castleberry electric directional gyro: compass card, airplane symbol and heading bug

Gyro instruments

A spinning gyroscope senses attitude, heading or rate of turn. Flight directors and HSIs build on the attitude indicator and directional gyro with command bars and course guidance.

  • Attitude / horizon indicators
  • Flight directors
  • Directional gyros
  • Horizontal situation indicators (HSIs)
  • Turn and bank indicators / turn coordinators
Explore gyros
Aircraft altimeter with a barometric setting window on the shop bench

Pressure instruments

Pitot-static instruments read the air around the aircraft to show altitude, airspeed and rate of climb or descent.

  • Altimeters
  • Airspeed indicators
  • Vertical speed indicators
Explore pressure gauges
Dual engine and rotor tachometer and manifold pressure gauge beside the airspeed indicator in a Robinson R44 panel

Engine gauges

Engine instruments show how the engine is running. They get the same precision bench repair and calibration as the flight instruments.

  • Tachometers, engine and rotor
  • Manifold pressure gauges
  • Oil, fuel and temperature gauges
Request a quote for an engine gauge

Don't see your instrument here? Send us the part number and we'll check.

Supported brands

Instrument brands we repair and overhaul

We work on flight instruments from Sigma-Tek, Collins Aerospace (formerly Rockwell Collins), Honeywell, AIM, Jet/L-3, Kratos, INSCO and Bendix/King, as well as the Castleberry gyro line.

Have the model and part number from the instrument's data plate? Include them in your service request and we'll check them against our capabilities list.

Check your model or part number
  • AIM
  • Jet and L-3 instruments
  • INSCO
  • Bendix/King
  • Our heritage

And many more.

Castleberry electric directional gyro with a helicopter symbol, compass card and push-to-set knob
A Castleberry 200 series directional gyro with the helicopter display, one of the Castleberry models we repair and overhaul.

Why CIA

Instrument repair with a Castleberry heritage

  1. Since 1958

    The Castleberry name has been in aircraft instrument repair since 1958, from its Texas roots to Show Low, and we carry on support for the Castleberry gyro line.

  2. Evaluation first

    Every instrument is evaluated on the bench before any repair or overhaul. We tell you what we found and recommend whether to repair or replace it, and you make the call.

  3. Certified repair station

    FAA Part 145 certified with an Unlimited Rating, and EASA and FAA-PMA certified too. See our certifications.

  4. Rotor and fixed-wing

    One instrument shop for helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft, whether you support a fleet or an agency, run a flight school or own a single aircraft.

Related services

Two more ways to keep the aircraft flying: an exchange when downtime matters, or a new instrument when replacing is the better call.

  • A gyro stenciled Handle like eggs in its mount on the test bench

    When downtime matters

    Exchanges

    Ask about an exchange when the aircraft can't wait for its own instrument to be repaired or overhauled.

  • Garmin glass-cockpit displays in a helicopter panel, with the pilot and a passenger in flight

    Replace and upgrade

    Sales & Upgrades

    When replacing makes more sense: new instruments and avionics from Garmin, Mid-Continent, Sigma-Tek and more.

More from CIA: Gyros · Pressure Gauges · All services

Request service

Start a service request

Send the make, model and part number, and we'll help you choose between repair, overhaul, exchange and replacement, then get your instrument back in the panel.

Request a quote (928) 537-8400 sales@ciamfg.com
700 N. 40th Street, Show Low, AZ 85901