PENNY GILES UK was founded in 1956 by Professor William A Penny and James A Giles. At that time, they determined that there was a great need for high-precision, high-reliability wire-wound potential equipment in the aviation industry for customers specializing in aircraft flight tests. The 1957 development resulted in the first aircraft crash data recorder, which magnetically recorded data on stainless steel wires (commonly known as a "black box"). In 1963, the British Aviation Department decreed that civil aircraft carrying passengers must be fitted with accident data recording systems, and Penny & Giles had extensive experience in providing sensors and recorders for these systems. [more]