Using Airline Safety Techniques in GA Operations A hearty eye-roll is often the first reaction when it is suggested that general aviation pilots should apply “airline techniques” to their operations to improve safety. First of all, GA is so multi-faceted that lumping so many types of aviation into such a catch-all term is ridiculous. How…
Almost all King Airs with Aircraft Instruments, capacitance-type fuel quantity indicators have the zero to 265 pounds range painted in yellow. The POH states, “Do not takeoff if fuel quantity gauges indicate in the yellow arc or if fuel quantity is less than 265 pounds in each wing system.” I know that a lot of…
The revolutionary PT6 engine gas turbine nearly died during development, yet managed to survive its detractors, cost overruns and a dearth of orders to become one of the most successful turboprop engines in the history of business aviation. Old pilots and antique airplane enthusiasts never tire of watching a “round engine” start up, belch a…
You Gotta Have Heart – Pilot Medical Requirements The heart is a muscular organ located in the chest whose purpose is to pump blood throughout the body. It consists of four chambers – two atria and two ventricles. The right atrium receives blood from the body and pushes it into the right ventricle, which then…
Garmin has announced new capabilities and enhanced operational benefits for the King Air C90 aircraft, which are made available through the latest software upgrade. This latest update offers new features including, NextGen components such as Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) compliance, user-defined holding patterns and the approval of optional equipment, which expands global operational capability. New…
Textron Aviation Inc. celebrated the opening of its larger, state-of-the-art Paris Service Center at Paris-Le Bourget Airport, boasting complete maintenance and repair capability for Citation business jets and Beechcraft King Air turboprops. According to the company, the new facility is three times larger than the original – 156,000 square-feet, including a 42,000 square-foot service bay…
From Model Communiqué # KA-2015-02 issued in March 2015: ATA 00 – General Textron Aviation has released the first edition of its new Customer Service magazine – the Direct Approach! Download the magazine to get the latest technical news, read about other Textron Aviation customers, and discover which product upgrades are available for your model.…
Last year started with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Beechcraft King Air’s first flight on Jan. 20, 2014, as well as recognizing the line of turboprops as the best-selling business aircraft family in the world with nearly 7,300 aircraft delivered and a worldwide fleet having surpassed 60 million flight hours. Shortly thereafter,…
I probably went for two or three years without installing airplane windshields, then suddenly I completed four installations in a two-month period. I noticed a few changes with the King Air windshields; first was pricing. The price of overhauled OEM windshields and the kits to install them has fluctuated wildly. Five years ago, I wrote…
On March 17, several aviation group leaders sent a letter to the House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY), Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS) and other related lawmakers, requesting dedicated funding for the Contract Tower Program. The letter requests that under the “Operations” section of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) FY 2016 appropriations…