Bendix Aviation
The Bendix Aviation Corporation was a manufacturer of aircraft parts based from 1929 to 1960 in Los Angeles, California.
It was started by inventor Vincent Bendix in 1929 as a continuation of his auto parts company. Bendix ranked 17th among United States corporations in the value of wartime production contracts.
In the 1950s, Fred McLafferty and Roland Gohlke worked with William C. Wiley and Daniel B. Harrington at Bendix Aviation to demonstrate the potential of combining gas chromatography and mass spectrometer. This led to the development of Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry instruments such as the Bendix MA-2 Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer.
The company was renamed to Bendix Corporation in 1960, and in 1983 was acquired by the Allied Corporation and combined with King Radio company to form Bendix/King. Now owned by Honeywell, Bendix/King remains a brand of avionics.
One product made by Bendix was a Land Mine Detecting set for the US Army and US Air Force in July 1952. The manual numbers for this portable detecting set is US Army manual number TM-5-9540 and US Air Force manual number TO39B-40-5. This set had audio and visual indications and operated on low volt batteries. This backpack style detecting set came with two probes, batteries, detecting plate, ple, and other basic electronics in an organized seal fiberglass box.
Bendix Aviation developed and manufactured advanced carburetion for aircraft engines; landing gear oleo struts; jet engine fuel controls for early J79 engines; and designed guidance systems and assembled the Talos missile for the US Navy.
Bendix aviation masks and gauges were modified and tested for use in diving and hyperbaric applications.
