Surprised, pleased and honored were the feelings I had when I received a phone call from Garmin’s Senior Business and Commercial Aviation Sales Manager Scott Frye, inviting me to come to their headquarters in Olathe, Kansas. I’d meet with and get briefed about their new Autothrottle and Autoland systems by some of their flight test…
As the four-blade aluminum propellers of the Beechcraft King Air 350 spun to a stop at Alaska’s Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport’s North Terminal, freight handlers stared at the aircraft’s civil lettering and red maple leaf roundels. When the cabin door opened, three men in military flight suits stepped from C-GSYC. As they unloaded training…
Last August, I had lunch at a restaurant overlooking Centennial Airport (KAPA) with the chief underwriting officer of a major aviation insurance carrier. The view was mesmerizing. The blue sky and Rocky Mountains in the background, a variety of aircraft below us – some just landing, some preparing for takeoff and others parked in perfect…
I’ve lost two old friends in the last few months. Gary Banker, the wonderful gentleman for whom I have flown and managed his King Air since May 2006 passed on in February and now my other “old friend,” Gary’s 1988 King Air C90A that I managed and flew. Gary’s family – daughter-in-law and grandsons –…
During the mid-1930s Walter Beech and his engineers developed a new series of Model 17s that added laurels to Beech Aircraft Company’s reputation and black ink to its battered balance sheets. The decision in 1933 to downsize the bullish Model 17R into the popular Model B17 series had proved to be the correct one…
Textron Aviation recently announced a noteworthy upgrade for its Beechcraft King Air 260 and 360 turboprops with the introduction of new CoolView® windows to minimize heat transfer into the cabin on the ramp and offer an unprecedented level of passenger comfort and cabin cooling. According to Lee Aerospace, the manufacturer of the windows, independent testing…
Garmin has announced that PlaneSync™ is now available for retrofit installations to bring new levels of connectivity and convenience to aircraft owners. PlaneSync automatically updates1 avionics databases, logs flight and engine data and allows aircraft owners and operators to remotely check fuel and systems status via the Garmin Pilot™ app2. Using a 4G LTE cellular…
SmartSky Networks®, the innovative air-to-ground inflight connectivity provider, announced Brunswick Aviation Services as a new sales and installation partner for its next-generation hardware. The Pennsylvania-based MRO now offers SmartSky to aircraft owners, operators and fleets looking to upgrade from legacy ATG systems, complement their SATCOM systems or add connectivity to their aircraft. An FAA Part…
Jim Kirvida proudly reached 25 years of ownership of N911CF, a 1980 Beechcraft King Air F90, earlier this year. The president of Custom Fire Apparatus, Inc. in Osceola, Wisconsin, has previously owned and operated a King Air 200 (BB-843) and a King Air C90A (LJ-1198) as well as two Cessna 425 Conquest twin turboprop aircraft.…
If you hit the starter switch in your King Air and nothing happens, or if you get a “gen out” light while in flight, starter generators will become top of mind. Generally speaking though, starter generators are not too problematic in most King Airs. The notable exception is the “Infamous -001” found in King Air…