The 2025 King Air Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place during the King Air Gathering in Phoenix, Arizona, with both recipients and their families present.
The third class to be inducted since the HOF was introduced in 2022 is comprised of Jim Allmon and Ed Pardi, with each taking home a custom award made from a King Air propeller.
Ed Pardi
The flying King Air salesman
Ed Pardi (pronounced par die) graduated from high school in 1957 in Boulder, Colorado, and after finding college didn’t suit him, his natural sales instincts landed him a job at a local Chevrolet dealership.
In 1961, his first full year of selling Chevys, he made $11,500. “My dad was only earning $6,500 and had spent several decades in his career, so I knew I was on to something with sales.”
The dealership’s used car sales manager changed Ed’s life when in 1964 he asked the young salesman to partner with him on buying an airplane they could use for personal travel. Ed’s first time in that 1947 Stinson 108, dubbed The Flying Station Wagon, was his first time ever off the ground in an airplane.
“I’d saved enough from selling cars and could afford to halve the $2,800 cost for that Stinson,” he said. “I really wasn’t that interested in flying or owning an airplane, but I was married by then and my wife thought it sounded like a great idea so we could fly to vacations and pancake breakfasts.”
When it was time for the airplane’s first annual under his ownership, the service shop’s owner told Ed he should consider selling airplanes.
“He lied about how much I could make selling airplanes, and I lied about how great of a saleman I was,” Ed recalled. “I went to work for the shop in Broomfield, Colorado, and it took me six months to sell the first one. It was a little Cessna 150 that sold for $2,100 and I made $25 commission. But I hung on because I was having so much fun flying the airplanes.”
By the mid-1970s, Ed was hired by Bill Fry, the manager of Denver Beech, the Beechcraft distributor for the Colorado area. Ed showed an innate skill at selling Beech airplanes, especially the King Air series. In addition to great selling talent, Ed also became an excellent pilot, especially in King Airs and, later, Citations. For many years Ed was honored at the annual Beech factory sales meeting for his volume of sales.
Ed met his second wife at the Beechcraft Training Center at the factory in Wichita, Kansas. The two eventually moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, and then Scottsdale, Arizona, where Ed went out on his own as the owner of Aviation Sales International. Ed also became the pilot for an individual Citation II owner in Phoenix, and he made numerous Atlantic crossings either delivering or bringing back a King Air or Citation that he had sold.
“One of the things that set Ed apart as a salesman was that he flew the airplane,” said Tom Clements, who presented the Hall of Fame award to Ed. “Rather than sit in the back of the airplane talking about financing, he was up front flying the King Air when he was selling them.”
Ed’s award read: For the decades of excellence he has provided as a King Air salesman, both for Beech and on his own.
Jim Allmon
Revolutionizing King Air performance since 1999
Jim Allmon, a founding partner of Blackhawk Aerospace, was surprised during the March 21 induction ceremony when his name was called.
“It’s hard for me to accept that I am worthy of this incredible honor,” he told King Air magazine. “To be included with past honorees such as James Raisbeck, Tom Clements, Dean Benedict, Olive Ann Beech, the original engineers of the PT6 and the chief engineer for Beech who helped develop the King Air … it’s such a mind-boggling thought. I can only say, I’ve always strived to support King Air owners and operators to help them unlock the full potential of the already-amazing aircraft. I feel that Blackhawk has achieved that goal.”
Since founding Blackhawk in 1999, Jim has been a driving force in redefining what’s possible for King Air aircraft. Jim’s award read: For your steadfast commitment to enhancing performance and extending the longevity of the renowned King Air turboprop, one of the most beloved and trusted aircraft in its class.
With a deep understanding of performance and innovation, Jim began his journey by leading piston engine upgrades at RAM Aircraft. His expertise and hands-on experience as a high-time pilot gave him the insight to see untapped potential in the King Air platform. If upgraded engines worked wonders for Cessna 414s, he knew they could do even more for King Airs.
Jim forged a partnership with Pratt & Whitney, convincing them to supply engines for Blackhawk’s transformative upgrades. Today, Blackhawk is the largest non-OEM buyer of Pratt & Whitney engines in the world. More than 1,500 operators now rely on Blackhawk-upgraded aircraft – including about 900 King Airs – experiencing unparalleled gains in safety, speed, efficiency and utility.
Jim has 11,000 hours total time, including nearly 1,000 hours in King Airs. Among his earliest King Air memories was flying LJ-1 to an event in Wichita where Olive Ann Beech was in attendance.
“Early in my career, I had the opportunity to fly the very first King Air ever produced – LJ-1,” he recalled. “I was asked to fly the airplane to Beech Field in Wichita for an event. I had no idea what the event was for, I only knew to fly the airplane there. Upon arrival, there were a lot of media, even a band and, of course, Olive Ann Beech herself. I was treated like a celebrity even though I was the backup pilot, but I appreciated the history of the event. Olive Ann was very gracious.”
Jim’s legacy is one of elevating an already legendary aircraft to new heights, ensuring its continued relevance and reliability for generations to come.
Beechcraft King Air Hall of Fame
Introduced at the 2022 King Air Gathering, this award was long overdue to honor those past and present who have been instrumental to building the Beechcraft King Air community. The selection committee considers whether possible honorees meet one of two criteria: Would the King Air have ever been made without the recipient and/or would the King Air have become the civilian aircraft with the longest production run in history without the recipient?
Past recipients in alphabetical order:
Olive Ann Beech (posthumously) – CEO of Beech Aircraft when the King Air was developed; she not only approved of but advocated for the King Air 90, which entered service in 1964
Dean Benedict – 50 years maintaining King Airs; a trusted consultant to King Air owners, pilots, managers, mechanics and readers of King Air magazine
Richard “Rich” Born – decades of contributions while selling King Airs and mentoring colleagues
Don Cary – spent 37 years in training and customer support roles at Beech Aircraft
LeRoy Clay (posthumously) – 45-year Beechcraft engineer and executive heavily involved with King Air development
Tom Clements – longtime King Air instructor, author of “The King Air Book” and “The King Air Book Volume II”
Bud Francis (posthumously) – spent many years as Beech’s chief of Experimental Flight Test; he made the first flights of the Model 200 in 1972, Model 300 in 1981 and the Model 350 in September 1988
Tom Gillespie (posthumously) – Beech marketer who was a prominent advocate of the fledgling King Air program; he’s credited with the vision of the turboprop future
Pratt and Whitney’s PT6 Design Team (posthumously) – Gordon Hardy, Jim Rankin, Fernand Desrochers, Fred Glasspoole, Ken Elsworth, Allan Newland, Pete Peterson, Hugh Lanshur, Jean-Pierre Beauregard, Elvie Smith, Dick Guthrie and Thor Stephenson credited with developing Pratt & Whitney Canada’s PT6 engine
James Raisbeck – founder of Raisbeck Engineering, known for performance-enhancing mods for the King Air family, including several incorporated into the production line
Raul “Rod” Rodriguez (posthumously) – earned accolades including the worldwide record holder for total King Air sales during 34 years at Beechcraft West
James D. “Jimmy” Webber (posthumously) – Beech’s chief engineer of Experimental Flight; he was PIC on the first flight of the King Air on Jan. 24, 1964