To appreciate this story, I need to share some background information. In 2016 Ron McAlister, Tom Clements, Jack Braly and I were standing outside of one of the hangars at the Beech Heritage Museum (BHM). During conversation, Ron expressed he had always wanted to have a large King Air fly-in but we were unsure of…
Quality Counts Sticker shock is rampant these days, and aircraft tires are no exception. Ten years ago, the list price on four main tires for a King Air 200 with standard gear ran $2,900 – now it’s $4,000. I am speaking specifically about Goodyear tires, which have always been my preference because they last longer…
You younger men and women flying King Airs are lucky: You never had to learn the Secondary Low Pitch Stop (SLPS) system. This hard-to-understand and accident-prone system is a very important necessity on King Airs powered by the PT6A-20 engine, only. That covers all the A90, B90 and early C90 models. But – and here’s…
Garmin recently announced that the latest update (v10.7) for Garmin Pilot is now available. Among many new features, the latest update now graphically displays taxiway and apron closures on the dynamic map – as well as SafeTaxi diagrams. Other highlights of the 10.7 update: Dynamic map enhancements: The dynamic map has been optimized to change…
He’s only had use of FL-586 for six months, but Ben Giles is certain he’s found paradise in the form of an airplane: a 2008 Beechcraft King Air 350 he purchased in 2020 and had extensively refurbished and upgraded at Textron Aviation’s Indianapolis Service Center. “This is the aircraft we will keep forever, or as…
Lately, it seems there is always “something” happening in the world that derails the stability of the aviation ecosystem. In 2020, it was COVID. The pandemic brought the aviation industry to a screeching halt, causing all of us to look at each other asking questions that nobody knew the answers to. COVID sparked serious concerns…
Author’s Note: The following article comes from a chapter in “The King Air Book, Volume I.” It has been abbreviated and simplified here to appeal to more King Air operators. The King Air B100 model is unique, as most of our readers know, in that it is the only production model in the King Air…
The Model A17F and A17FS were like no other Beechcrafts ever built – powerful, brutish machines whose high performance was nothing short of spectacular for their time. Despite America’s bleak economic situation, Walter Beech and his chief engineer, Ted Wells, held tenaciously to the belief that there was a small, but profitable market for a…
Garmin® International, Inc. recently announced that expanded engine monitoring capability is now available for select Beechcraft King Air 2001 aircraft with the addition of the TXi™ Engine Indication System (EIS) display. King Air 200 owners and operators will benefit from the TXi EIS with features like engine timers, exceedance recordings, dynamic engine indications, as well…
It’s tough for Jeff Lowe to fly his 1979 Beechcraft King Air C90 past an airport that is home to an aftermarket completion center. As co-founder and president of Aviation Fabricators – or AvFab – he knows each facility is a customer or prospective customer for the interior parts and components his company designs and…