Yesterday I got a call from a mechanic working on a pressurization problem with a King Air C90. The pilot’s squawk was that the altitude warning light came on while at cruise; the pilot descended. The mechanic did not know if the cabin dumped all at once, but the way he told it, it didn’t…
When conducting the run-up propeller feathering check, have you noticed what happens to ITT? Of course, most of our attention is directed to the propeller tachometers, as it should be, making sure they decrease rapidly and significantly. Some pilots conduct the check just as they were taught in the Seneca or Travel Air or Duchess…
Beech Aircraft Corporation had long been recognized as a leader in the design of general aviation aircraft, but along with its successes there have been a number of would-be Beechcrafts that never made it to market. Introduced in 1981, the turbocharged Model B36TC Bonanza was Beech Aircraft’s answer to high-performance, turbocharged aircraft being offered by…
Avcon Industries has received a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) supplemental type certificate (STC) for the installation of the company’s dual 400-amp starter generators on Beechcraft King Air 300s equipped with PT6A-60 engines. The installation of the starter generators on each of the King Air 300’s engines provide a total generator capacity of 800 amps. A user-customizable power…
AviationManuals has updated its aircraft minimum equipment list (MEL) guide based on the analysis of hundreds of MELs that have been submitted to aviation authorities from around the globe. The revised guide offers answers to common questions regarding MELs including regulatory requirements and key elements of the lists. To download the free guide, go to…
SmartSky Networks, the next generation mobile broadband network, recently announced it now has live nationwide coverage. Utilizing the unlicensed 2.4GHz spectrum band, SmartSky’s network employs patented know-how that combines advanced 4G and 5G technologies to optimize scalability, transmission range, and power to and from the aircraft even in the high-interference environments over congested cities. SmartSky’s…
I fly some version of a Piper PA-46, a Daher TBM or a Beechcraft King Air five to six days a week. I’m either instructing, examining or sometimes I get to fly those beauties all by my lonesome. Not a bad gig, eh? I love my job and would not choose to do anything else. My…
I thought you might enjoy reading about some memories I have of a couple of events in my life … tied to King Airs, of course! I think it was 1974; I was in my third year as a ground and flight instructor at the Beechcraft Training Center in Wichita and the center’s manager, Don…
New Location for AD Databases The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has developed a new site for several of its Airworthiness Directives (AD) databases. Effective Aug. 16, 2022, Emergency Airworthiness Directives (EAD), Airworthiness Directives (AD) and Airworthiness Directives: Biweekly (AD Biweekly) will only be available by going to the recently developed Dynamic Regulatory System (DRS) at…
Throughout its 84-year history, Beech Aircraft Corporation designed and built a number of experimental airplanes intended to set the pace for competitors to follow. Some designs eventually took wing, but others never made it past the drawing board and faded into obscurity. In 1940, Walter Beech’s chief engineer, Theodore “Ted” Wells, and his staff were…