No Statement of Work? That’s Fine. All We Need Is a Picture.
- 15 hours ago
- 3 min read
You want a quote… but you don’t have a clean Statement of Work (SOW), full drawings, or a complete bill of materials.
At Simtek, that doesn’t stop the conversation.
In fact, we’ve built our process around a reality most primes and integrators deal with every day: programs move fast, documentation lags behind, and legacy configurations don’t always come with neat engineering packages.
Our approach:
No SOW? No problem. Send a picture.
Why a Picture Is Often Enough to Get Started
A clear photo of a panel, control head, instrument, or cockpit section can tell our team a lot:
layout and form factor
control types (knobs, switches, buttons, annunciators)
labeling style and lighting approach
mounting patterns and mechanical constraints
cues to common OEM configurations and variants
For many requests, that’s enough for us to quickly determine whether we already have a close match in our library—or how much effort it will take to create one.
We Have Over 9,800 Part Numbers (And a Lot of History)
Simtek isn’t starting from scratch.
We’ve built and supported simulated avionics for decades, and today we maintain over 9,800 part numbers covering a wide range of aircraft platforms, cockpit subsystems, and simulator applications.
That matters because it means:
There’s a high chance we’ve already built something similar
We can leverage existing designs and proven architectures
Your schedule improves because we’re not reinventing the wheel
Risk drops because we’re using known-good approaches
In many cases, a customer sends a photo and we can say, “Yep—we’ve built that,” or “We’ve built the same family of hardware with a slightly different layout.”
If We Don’t Have It, We Can Scale From a Photo (Seriously)
Sometimes the exact configuration is new. That’s where Simtek stands out.
Even without formal drawings, we can often scale from a photo (with a reference dimension, even something as simple as a ruler in-frame or a known mounting width) and develop a design that still meets the level of fidelity you’re targeting.
That includes:
accurate physical proportions and spacing
realistic control feel and interaction
correct lighting and labeling style (when required)
integration-ready electronics architecture
maintainable, supportable build approach for simulator duty cycles
So yes—a simple picture can turn into a quote, a plan, and deliverable hardware.
Fidelity Isn’t Just “Looks”—It’s Function and Feel
When customers say “fidelity,” they usually mean more than appearance. They want:
correct switch logic and behavior
accurate knob response and detents
proper annunciation and brightness response
repeatable performance across devices
durability for constant student/instructor cycles
Simtek builds simulated avionics to handle training abuse—and still feel right.
What to Send Simtek (So We Can Move Fast)
If you want the fastest path to a quote, send:
A clear photo (straight-on if possible)
One of the following reference helpers:
a ruler or tape measure in the photo, or
known dimension (overall width/height), or
mounting hole spacing (center-to-center)
Any “nice-to-have” details:
platform (A320, 737, H-145, etc.)
sim type (FTD vs FFS, training level)
preferred interface (Ethernet/PoE, USB, discrete I/O, etc.)
quantity and desired timeline
If you don’t have those extras—send the picture anyway. We’ll guide the rest.
The Simtek Promise: Reduce Friction, Increase Momentum
Programs don’t fail because people can’t build hardware.They fail because the process gets stuck waiting on perfect documentation. Simtek exists to keep momentum going.
No SOW? That’s fine. All we need is a picture.With a library of 9,800+ part numbers, chances are we already have a design. And if we don’t, we can still build from a photo and deliver the fidelity you’re looking for—without slowing your program down.
