After working several years at Beech Aircraft, I had heard the Raisbeck name in relation to the King Air, but I didn’t realize the impact that James Raisbeck had on the ever-popular turboprop until I became editor of the King Air magazine. I interviewed James shortly after the magazine was launched in 2007. That conversation…
James D. Raisbeck’s innovative modifications to the Beechcraft King Air product line provide owners and operators with a series of upgrades that improve the airplane’s capability, utility and overall value. “Mr. Raisbeck has made our aircraft faster, given the owners of our airplanes the usage of more airports through lowered calculated landing speeds, and provided…
When I ran my maintenance shop and got a new company truck, I kept the old one at the airport as a crew car. After several months of driving the new one, I used the old one to run an errand and was shocked at the slop in the steering. I didn’t remember it…
The expanded, first-flight-of-the-day checklist procedures in the Pilot’s Operating Handbook (POH) include a somewhat lengthy and hard-to-understand series of steps for confirming that the electrical system is fit for duty with all its safety devices operating properly. My guess is that this procedure is executed quite rarely and, when it is done, the pilot is…
Textron Aviation recently announced the Beechcraft King Air 360/360ER and King Air 260 have both achieved European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) type certification and will begin deliveries to customers throughout the region. “EASA certification begins a whole new era for the Beechcraft King Air in Europe,” said Tom Perry, vice president of sales for…
Innovative Solutions & Support, Inc. (IS&S) has been awarded European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) Supplemental Type Certification (STC) for its ThrustSense® Full Regime Autothrottle for the King Air. The company reports that the approvals mark over 40 countries outside of the U.S. to approve its revolutionary autothrottle technology,…
The King Air Gathering (KAG) scheduled for Sept. 23-26, 2021 has been postponed due to the uncertainty associated with the Delta variant of COVID and the challenges it may pose for travel and safety. The new dates for the KAG are May 12-15, 2022 and have been coordinated and confirmed with the event sponsors and…
The roll-up door retracted upward as sunlight beamed through the opening. Beacon steady; green. Go, go, go! Thousands of feet of air; around a minute of free fall followed by a graceful drifting back to reality. Another takeoff in an aircraft followed by a biped landing. Jumping out of “perfectly good airplanes” is something that…
An insurance policy should provide peace of mind when putting capital at risk. However, when operating your King Air, you should be aware there are some perils that may not be covered, thus, giving you a false sense of security. A well-constructed aircraft hull and liability policy can, and should, provide a broad array of…
Last month in my article regarding how to configure your King Air for in-flight icing encounters, I started reviewing the number of switches or push-pull controls that must be activated in icing conditions according to your POM/POH. To review, there are two or four switches to the left of the pilot’s control wheel: Two Engine…