Meet our Founder and Designer
The founder of Northwest Aviation Services, and designer of Creative Electronics’ Beacon Tester, Neil Stone, has always been passionate about aviation and electronics. As a child, he would spend hours building model airplanes. While in grade school, post WWII, the curious Neil would disassemble discarded radios to determine how they worked, and by trial and error, began to repair the radios. His uncle, an amateur radio operator, taught him basic electronic theory in two nights.
When televisions began showing up in households, he did the same, and while still in high-school, Neil became well-known in his community as a self-employed television repairman. He had so much work, he began employing friends. This venture enabled Neil to purchase his own car, and pursue his love of aviation by paying for flight lessons.
Neil went to college to study industrial management, training for work in the corporate world, but what he really wanted to do was fly. So, he acquired his US commercial multi-engine certificate and served as a pilot for Eastern Airlines for 21 years. During this time, he also served on the Civil Air Patrol.
After retirement, Neil moved to Idaho, but did not leave aviation behind. He worked for a fixed-based operator as a mechanic and pilot. He holds an airline transport pilot certificate, along with ratings for DC9 and Boeing 727. Furthermore, Neil is a certified aircraft mechanic, with an air frame and power plant rating, and with an inspection authorization.
Throughout his aviation career, Neil continued to be interested in electronics, and taught himself about analog, digital and computer skills. With years of study, he is able to design and build circuits.
During a renewal seminar for his inspection authorization, the topic of testing emergency beacons came up, along with the fact that there was no set testing procedure. Instead, the FAA just refers to what the beacon manufacturer recommends. He was surprised at the high cost of beacon testers on the market (about $4,000 at that time), and felt that he could design a more affordable and user-friendly product. So, he began studying how the new emergency beacons worked, relying on the Specification for COSPAS-SARSAT 406 MHz Distress Beacon document for his design.
As a result of several years of research and design testing, Neil has developed the Creative Electronics’ Beacon Tester. He was able to achieve what he set out to create. The 1091C model is much less expensive than any tester on the market, with the base model priced at under $650. More importantly, the product is user-friendly, self-contained, and tests beacons for compliance to the COSPAS-SARSAT specifications, providing an accurate and complete test result.
Today, Neil Stone is as busy as ever, and continues to follow his passions. In addition to his design work, Neil has received several patents with the US Patent office in the field of electronics, volunteers with the Chief Joseph Foundation, operates a ranch, is an FCC licensed amateur radio operator, flies his own aircraft, as well as providing aircraft maintenance and inspection services.
To learn more about Neil’s innovative product, visit our Beacon Tester product page.