For more than 30 years the Model 200-series King Air and its predecessors have carved out an impressive niche in the demanding and increasingly competitive market that characterizes Special Mission aircraft. The term “Special Missions” had its origin as early as World War I and has evolved during the past 50 years to encompass a…
New Interior and Cabin Amenities for King Air 260
Textron Aviation announced it is introducing new interiors to its Beechcraft King Air 260 turboprop. Featuring a stunning new look with craftsman-built cabinetry and a selection of opulent fabrics and color schemes, the luxurious, redesigned cabin interior will be available on all new King Air 260 aircraft in early 2022. The King Air 260’s cabinetry…
McCauley Propeller Launches Aftermarket Solution for King Air B300 series
Owners and operators of the Beechcraft King Air B300 series will soon have the option of equipping their aircraft with a McCauley Blackmac Series 105-inch diameter propeller with four aluminum swept blades. McCauley Propeller Systems is a division of Textron Aviation Inc. and says with the new propeller, King Air B300 operators can experience several…
Garmin Pilot App Adds New Features on iPad or iPhone
Garmin® International Inc. recently announced the addition of new features to the Garmin Pilot™ app on iPad® or iPhone® mobile devices. These new enhancements to Garmin Pilot include graphical depiction of runway and airport closures on the dynamic map. Alerts for terminal environment NOTAMs have been added throughout the Garmin Pilot app to enable pilots…
NBAA-BACE Offering Educational Sessions On-Demand
The 2021 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) in Las Vegas, Nevada, will be holding more than 50 sessions – including pre- and post-show Professional Development Program courses; the Single Pilot Safety Standdown; the National Safety Forum; the Small Operator Symposium; and the Tax, Regulatory & Risk Management Conference – offered before, during and…
Blackhawk Receives STC Approval for XP67A Engine+ Upgrade for King Air 300
Blackhawk Aerospace has received approval of its 30th Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) which is for the XP67A Engine+ Upgrade for the King Air 300. Additional recent approvals include the addition of European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and British Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) certifications for the True Blue Power TB44 Lithium Ion battery on the…
Colorado’s Contours, Part II: Discovering the Marvels of Man and Nature
In Part I of this series, we explored two of Colorado’s amazing national parks and the airports that serve them – Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), northwest of Denver, and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (BCGNP), just east of Montrose. Colorado has two other national parks worthy of your exploration. However, if you…
Icing in Flight: Part I
This article is written in hopes that it will serve as a useful reminder about how to configure your King Air for in-flight icing encounters. If you have any significant amount of flight time in a King Air, I suppose that you have become quite comfortable with flying and handling the airplane in icing conditions.…
Buyer Due Diligence
Due diligence, simply stated, is “examining things or people before buying or employing them.” (macmillanthesaurus.com) I’m talking about a prepurchase inspection, aka, the pre-buy. There is a lot of pushback against them, which makes no sense to me. In buying a King Air, you’re going to part with upward of a million dollars (or maybe…
The Super King Air Arrives
Beech Aircraft Corporation tightened its grip on the twin-engine turboprop market by introducing the Model 200 Super King Air – an airplane that quickly established itself as the crown jewel of the company’s product line. Previously published in part in the Sept./Oct. 2012 issue of this magazine. In 1973 as Beech Aircraft Corporation approached the…