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Halo 350 Conversion Available for King Air 350 and 360 Models

CenTex Aerospace announced the availability of the Halo 350 increased gross weight conversion for the Beechcraft King Air 350 and King Air 360. The Halo 350 conversion increases the maximum takeoff weight limit from 15,000 to 15,950 lbs. Aircraft empty weight is increased only 4 lbs., which equates to an increase in payload or fuel of 946…

Raisbeck/Hartzell Five Blade Propellers Receive STC Approval for Heavyweight King Air 300, 350 and 360

Raisbeck Engineering recently announced it has received FAA STC approval for the installation of Raisbeck/Hartzell five blade swept turboprop propellers on heavyweight (16,500 lb.) King Air 300, 350 and 360 series aircraft. The Raisbeck/Hartzell five blade swept turboprop propellers offer improved aircraft performance. This includes increased thrust and cruise speeds, decreased noise levels, and improved…

PWI Expands LED Ice Light Product Line with New Threaded Mount Version

PWI has expanded the already-PMA approved bayonet mount LED Ice Light product and is now offering a new PMA-approved version which features a threaded mount.  This product illuminates the leading edge of the wing to aid in detecting ice formation. The light performance has received much positive feedback relating to light output and longevity. Owner/operators…

SmartSky Launches Capability to Keep In-flight Data Secure from End to End

SmartSky Networks, the innovative air-to-ground (ATG) in-flight connectivity provider, announced the launch of SmartSky Private Intranet (PI) routing powered by its Skytelligence services platform. The PI is deployed using an aircraft interface device (AID) and routes data traffic privately to and from the aircraft utilizing SmartSky’s next-generation network and patented beamforming technology that assigns a separate…

You Should Fly a  King Air Across the North Atlantic: 10 Reasons Why

You Should Fly a King Air Across the North Atlantic: 10 Reasons Why

There was a seminal moment in my life about 10 years ago when I was in the throes of changing jobs; that moment changed my life. I was in the Army for about nine years in the 1990s and enjoyed it, but I knew I didn’t want to extend my service. I decided to join…

Troubleshooting Autofeather

In recent months I’ve fielded quite a few calls on the autofeather system in King Airs. In one case I was engaged to assist a shop with unraveling an autofeather mystery. The system was inoperative on one side and they had taken every conceivable step to fix it, with no luck.  As the tech outlined…

A Suggested Checklist “Cycle”

A Suggested Checklist “Cycle”

It is my strong belief that few pilots (rightly so!) use the same checklist for all of their flight operations in a particular aircraft. Even if they always open the same manufacturer’s current checklist, I believe the way it is used causes it to become a rather different set of procedures. Here are a couple…

The Last Seminole

The Last Seminole

In the late 1950s, the U.S. Army’s inventory of the versatile L-23/U-8 Seminole series of light military transports ended with introduction of the L-23F – the versatile Beechcraft that set a new standard for fixed-wing Army aviation. Thirteen years after the end of the bloodiest conflict on earth known as World War II, Americans were…

Wing Aviation Selects Bluetail’s Modern Aircraft Records Platform

Bluetail announced that Houston-based Wing Aviation, a Part 135 on-demand charter and aircraft management company, has selected its leading modern aircraft records platform to digitize all of the maintenance and operational logs for its current fleet of over 30 business aircraft.  “The on-demand segment has grown to unprecedented levels over the past 24 months, with…

Bose Unveils A30 Digital ANR Aviation Headset

Bose, the leader in premium aviation headset technology, announced its latest innovation: the new A30 Aviation Headset.  Bose engineers designed the A30 as a completely new platform supported by a modern architecture, inspired by decades of research and pilot input. The A30 features reduced clamping force for comfort, improved clarity and a new digital active noise reduction system that enables three modes…