Marc Wolf, a Southern California long-time pilot, instructor, and King Air magazine reader, has requested that I write about the different King Air PT6 shutdown fuel purge systems that have been used through the years. I appreciate the suggestion of this interesting topic and will address it here. First, realize that kerosene is actually more difficult…
In 1937, the Beech Aircraft Company introduced its first multi-engine, cabin-class transport that would become the undisputed icon of business aviation and the grand patriarch of the legendary Beechcraft King Air. It had been five years since the dreadful “Black Thursday” of October 1929 had inaugurated the worst collapse of prosperity in American history. Millions…
Hartzell Propeller Inc. has appointed RUAG Aviation in Lodrino, Switzerland as a Recommended Service Facility. The Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility covers a wide area of central Europe. RUAG Aviation’s Lodrino facility is an EASA- and FAA-approved repair station and services aircraft from manufacturers, including Textron Aviation. Hartzell encourages customers to use its Recommended…
King Air initial and recurrent training is now being offered by 21st Century Flight Training through ELITE Sim Centers at Oviedo, Florida. The company will use the ELITE King Air B200 FAA-approved Advanced Aviation Training Device (AATD), and in addition to King Air training, courses will be offered for the Garmin 430/530W and G1000 advanced…
USAIG (United States Aircraft Insurance Group) proudly welcomed Aviation Performance Solutions LLC (APS), a global leader in Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT), to its Performance Vector safety initiative. Performance Vector delivers valuable, forward-looking safety support and is available to USAIG policyholders who insure turbine-powered aircraft or place multiple policies with USAIG. Eligible policyholders can…
Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport announced the opening of the new Customs and Border Control Facility, as well as expanded facility hours. The new hours are 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. local time. The new facility is located at the east end of taxiway G, as shown above.
King Air B200 owner creates King Air Academy Ron McAlister is a guy who should be retired, but he’s working two jobs and loving it. “I gotta tell ya,” the 62-year-old said, “I’m having a ball.” One of the main reasons he’s having too much fun to stop is that he’s the owner-operator of a…
Imagine you are pre-flighting your King Air, checking the oil and the oil is off the stick on one side. After uttering the obligatory expletive, what do you do? If your first instinct is to dump a couple quarts in that engine and check the stick again, chances are you will be wiping oil off…
Why, yes indeed! All straight 90s, A90s and B90s use a single supercharger, driven by the left engine, as the source of air inflow for cabin pressurization. The PT6A-6 and PT6A-20 engines that these models used had lower compression ratios and delivered less air than later members of the PT6A family, yet in 1971 when…
As of Sept. 24, flight crews should use the flight service common frequency of 122.2 MHz for flight watch services that were formerly available on 122.0 MHz and Emergency Flight Advisory Service (EFAS), more commonly known as “Flight Watch.” The change means that most pilots will utilize a single frequency for access to all enroute…