For many years I maintained a B200 owned by a family business that had used the same pilot for years. He had flown for the airlines and was a decent guy, but every time he picked up the King Air after maintenance, he pulled the door shut, started the engines and took off without even…
As I write this near the end of August 2020, the “ADS Crash” thread on the BeechTalk forum is approaching 100 pages. As most of you know, in June 2019 a tragic accident occurred at Addison airport (KADS) in Dallas, Texas. A nearly new King Air 350i departing on a flight to Florida, crashed into…
In 1930 America’s economy was in a tailspin when the Stearman Aircraft Company introduced the Model 6 biplane – a rugged design but one that found few commercial buyers and was rejected by the military as a primary trainer. The “Roarin’ Twenties” had been good to Wichita’s airframe manufacturers. In 1928, for example, the city’s…
The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) recently announced an informative series of upcoming NBAA GO virtual professional development seminars addressing common questions and concerns surrounding aircraft transactions, ownership structures and taxation, including the ramifications from COVID-19 pandemic. Beginning Tuesday, Oct. 13, the Virtual Aviation Tax & Transactions Review will encompass a series of three live…
Garmin® International, Inc. recently announced the D2™ Air, its latest GPS smartwatch for the modern pilot with powerful aviation capabilities and a sleek, new touchscreen design that can be worn 24/7. The newest addition in the D2 aviator watch series, the D2 Air offers tools for all phases of flight, including weather, direct-to navigation, airport…
In a sign of these pandemic times, Textron Aviation last month launched the new flagship of the Beechcraft King Air family with online fanfare only. On Aug. 4, the company posted a 10-minute recorded video on its social media channels followed by distributing a press release with details of the King Air 360 and 360ER,…
When I was new to the aviation world, just acquiring my certificates and ratings, I would watch corporate aircraft of all sizes taxi onto the local ramp and enthusiastically greet pilots with my opinion on what a beautiful aircraft they had and how I couldn’t wait to fly one myself one day. Every now and…
If your King Air is a senior citizen built before the late 1970s, I am betting that you are quite familiar with the use of the “Man Cool” and “Man Heat” modes of operation of your environmental mode selector. Why? Because the kinks associated with the Auto mode of environmental control had not yet been…
Cessna Aircraft Company’s commercial Model T-50 was designed for airlines and air taxi service but evolved into one of the best twin-engine military trainers of World War II. In June 1939, officials of the Cessna Aircraft Company announced a major expansion of facilities that would allow for increased production of the single-engine Airmaster and the…
Textron Aviation is inviting King Air owners and operators to a live one-hour technical session with King Air aircraft experts. The sessions will demonstrate resources to streamline your account, review service bulletins and maintenance practices, address FAQs posed to its product support lines and take questions from the audience. The technical review session for the…