KAGII

Packed with Knowledge and Enjoyment

The second King Air Gathering (KAG) held September 29-30, 2017, at Stevens Aviation in Dayton, Ohio (KDAY) was deemed even more successful than the first Gathering. The event not only had information-packed seminars presented by King Air experts, but also provided optional activities of a tour of Hartzell Propeller Inc., which was “outstanding” according to those who attended. They were shown the manufacturing process of the propellers, including those made of composites. On Sunday, those who chose to stay were provided a shuttle to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force located at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Attendees felt they learned about a lot of things they weren’t aware of that pertained to the King Air or aircraft operation in general. On Friday, Keynote Speaker Dr. David Strahle, Father of Datalink and fellow King Air 200 owner/pilot, discussed Thunderstorm Avoidance using NEXRAD Radar and Advanced Weather Planning. He provided a wealth of information and many different website options to dig deeper into the weather to provide a better picture of what your routes currently look like and what they will be in the future.

Thank you to the KAG II Sponsors

Platinum
Rockwell Collins Textron Aviation

Gold
Raisbeck Engineering Davis Aviation
Stevens Aviation Garmin
LoPresti Aviation StandardAero
Blackhawk Covington Aircraft
BLR Aerospace Vector Aerospace
Advent Aircraft Systems Hampton Aviation
Aviation Fabricators (AvFab) PWI
Luma Technologies RAPCO Fleet Support
King Air Academy MORE Company
Trace Aviation ForeFlight
CenTex Aerospace Chairman Aviation
Sandel Avionics

During the afternoon session, the group was split into two breakout sessions. One that focused on King Air pilotage and the other was owner/pilot maintenance in which a King Air F90 on jacks was part of the presentation and attendees received an up-close and personal look at items. One item in particular was very helpful as one of the owners of a King Air 200 had experienced upon landing the front nose tire skidded for about 2,000 feet before stopping with the nose wheel defected to the right. It was brought up during the maintenance session and when looking at the F90, it was discovered that a clip had a piece missing and potential for the same kind of failure.

Editor’s Note: Following the KAG, King Air Academy sent out a PIREP to warn other owners about the issue and about 10 percent who received the report found that the clips on their aircraft were damaged. (If you would like to receive a copy of the PIREP, send an email to kevin@kingairacademy.com.)

Some of the sponsors and exhibitors brought aircraft to showcase their products which were in a special display area right outside the hangar and many took advantage of seeing their offerings Friday during the cocktail reception.

On Saturday, after another day of helpful presentations and breakout sessions, Keynote Speaker Robert “Hoot” Gibson, USN Retired, former fighter pilot, test pilot, and Navy Astronaut presented an uplifting look at Beechcraft Bonanzas to the Space Shuttle.

King Air Gathering III is currently being planned for spring 2018 in the Midwest region. More details to come.