Textron Aviation recently broke ground on its 180,000 square-foot expansion to its parts distribution facility (photo, opposite page). Announced during NBAA-BACE, the project will allow the company to better support customers who own and operate Cessna, Beechcraft and Hawker products. The company said the additional space and capabilities the expansion provides will enable it to…
BLR Aerospace has received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification for its King Air C90 Winglet Series LED lighting system upgrade for winglets and tails. The light package is a turn-key solution that upgrades the forward position, forward anti-collision, forward recognition, rear position and rear anti-collision lights from incandescent to LED. The LED lighting system improves…
The King Air model 200 was the first of the King Airs to have both an automatic and manual mode of propeller de-ice. All previous King Air models offered only the automatic system. The purpose of this article is to describe the system differences and to provide some insight into their use. All King Air…
FAA to Extend Aircraft Registration Duration In mid-November, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) posted a draft of a direct final rule to extend the duration of aircraft registration certificates from three to seven years. Per the draft, “Initial Certificates of Aircraft Registration will expire seven years from the month issued. In addition, the FAA is…
Last summer I supervised a gear overhaul (inspection) on a King Air F90 belonging to a client. We were coming down the home stretch. The motor, gear box and torque tubes were ready for reinstallation. The cabin had been gutted for ease of access and we were about to reinstall all the floorboards that had…
Robert Johnson saw a Facebook post in August 2017 from friend Doug Jackson asking fellow general aviation pilots in the Dallas area to help in an effort he was leading to fly critically-needed relief supplies to small airports in coastal Texas. While ground transportation was unsafe due to catastrophic flooding, aircraft could land with basic…
John Glidewell likes to imagine having been a fly on the wall in the early 1960s at Beech Aircraft Corporation during conversations between company president Olive Ann Beech, her engineering executives and engine supplier Pratt & Whitney as they were considering combining the proven airframe of the Model 80 series Queen Air with the gas…
As Florida grapples with the devastation of Hurricane Ian, its impact on the insurance industry is already making the headlines. Estimates of “insurable losses” are between $25-$40 billion. While this is a big range, even the lowest of estimates is a meaningful, industry changing number. You will hear of possible litigation between the insurance companies…
Mark your calendars now for King Air Gathering 2023 being held at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida. The upcoming Gathering will be a bit different from others in the past, as all seminars and exhibits will be held at the World Golf Village. The resort not only features two championship golf courses…
I recently had a conversation with a representative of one of the propeller manufacturers and it became apparent that he had a couple of misconceptions about the behavior of the King Air propeller both during in-flight shutdowns and airstarts. That prompted me to write this article in an attempt to provide clarification. As we have…