Registration opened May 1 for the 2021 King Air Gathering (KAG) being held Sept. 23-26 at the Beechcraft Heritage Museum, located adjacent to the Tullahoma, Tennessee, Regional Airport (THA).
If you arrive early enough Thursday, Sept. 23, there will be guided museum tours from “special” (a once in a lifetime opportunity) tour guides. That evening join everyone at a Welcome Cocktail Reception sponsored by Blackhawk Aerospace. Friday and Saturday will be filled with educational seminars and time to meet with King Air-specific vendors that will have exhibits located in the conference area. Friday night, hosted by Stevens Aerospace & Defense Systems, will commence with the inaugural “King Air Hall of Fame” awards followed by cocktails and hors d’oeuvres with local Nashville entertainment which is guaranteed to be a good time!
Some of the speakers featured at this year’s KAG are:
Bruce Landsberg – Currently, vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Before joining the NTSB, Bruce was the Executive Director of the Air Safety Foundation until 2010, then became president of the AOPA Foundation and Air Safety Institute until he retired in 2014. He served in the U.S. Air Force as a missile launch officer and many government committees promoting aviation safety, including NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System.
Bill Crutchfield – A current King Air C90B owner, Bill has been flying since 1962. He was the Opening Session keynote speaker at the 2012 NBAA convention, as well as the keynote speaker for the Single Pilot Safety Standdown at the 2018 NBAA convention. Bill is also a recipient of the FAA’s Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award. In 1974, he founded Crutchfield in his mother’s basement with only $1,000 in savings. The company has grown into one of the largest and most respected consumer electronics online retailers in North America. As a result, Bill was inducted into the Consumer Technology Association’s Hall of Fame in 2007.
Tom Clements – Flying and instructing in King Airs for over 38 years, Tom was first employed at Beech Aircraft Company and since 1979, had his own company, Flight Review, Inc. Tom has over 22,000 hours with more than 14,500 in King Airs and is type-rated in the BE-300, BE-1900 and Learjet DC-3. He is a Gold Seal CFI and the author of The King Air Book and The King Air Book, Volume II as well as a regular contributor in King Air magazine.
Peter Basile – As a senior Air Safety Investigator at Textron Aviation, Peter is responsible for assisting the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) during their on-site investigations and providing technical support to answer any questions concerning Textron’s products. He has participated as an NTSB party member on over 200 investigations ranging from Cessna 140s and Beechcraft Musketeers to current production King Airs and Citation jets. Peter began his career with Cessna in 2001 as a manufacturing engineer. In 2005, he began investigating aircraft accidents. In 2015, Peter served on the General Aviation Joint Steering Committee for System Component Failures of Powerplants to develop safety enhancements and intervention strategies. He instructs at the NTSB academy and the DOT Transportation Safety Institute.
Dean Benedict – Beech hired Dean in 1975, straight out of A&P school. He cut his teeth on the earliest King Air model 90s and “grew up” with the 200, the B200 and subsequent models. He went from line mechanic to facility manager, and in 1985 as Director of Maintenance for a corporate flight department, where he maintained King Airs and a variety of other aircraft models. In 18 years, no flights were missed for maintenance reasons. When Dean opened his own maintenance facility, word spread quickly and Honest Air Inc. became the place to take your King Air for maintenance. In his new venture, BeechMedic LLC, Dean consults with owners, pilots, managers, and mechanics on all their King Air concerns.
Paul Sneden – Involved in general aviation since 1972, including serving as copilot and maintenance manager for a King Air E90, Paul has a diverse background of line maintenance, avionics, project management and quality assurance. He has been instructing in King Airs, Aircraft Wiring and Maintenance FARs since 2006. His current Business, KingAirDOM LLC, guides King Air owners and operators through the maze of pre-purchase, required inspections, maintenance, tracking, and vendors while controlling maintenance costs.
Robert Winchcomb – With Pratt & Whitney (P&WC) for over 25 years, Robert began his career as an aircraft maintenance technician and has worked with the PT6A since 1985. He joined P&WC in 1994 as a field support representative in Brisbane, Australia and moved within P&WC in various customer support departments and now serves as a manager with PT6A customer service. Robert’s specialties include P&WC engine diagnostics and PT6A engine control rigging.
Edward H. Phillips – An aviation history enthusiast, Ed has researched, written and published nine books and more than 100 magazine articles on the airplanes, people and companies that made Wichita, Kansas, the “Air Capital of the World” – a title it retains to this day. Ed is a graduate of the University of North Dakota’s aviation and journalism program and served as business flying editor at Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine for 20 years before retiring in 2007. He holds a commercial pilot license with instrument, multiengine and flight instructor certificates, as well as an Airframe & Powerplant license. A long-running series of Ed’s history articles have been published in King Air magazine since 2008.
Don Cary – Hired in 1966 by Beech Aircraft Company as a King Air training specialist on the new King Air A90, he taught ground training and checked out customer pilots for over two years, transitioning to the manager of the customer training program. Don eventually moved on to director of customer support, which involved Beech’s training program, parts support, technical support and technical publications department. His responsibilities included visiting Beechcraft’s worldwide network of dealers and its many customers. Next, he became the vice president of product marketing, then headed up all of marketing and eventually served as vice president of customer relations.
The Gathering this year is held at a special place for any aircraft enthusiast but especially Beechcraft owners, so take some time to enjoy its offerings as well. The Beech Heritage Museum traces the lineage of the Beechcraft legacy including the very first Beechcraft, the 1929 Travel Air Mystery Ship, original collections from the Beech family and aircraft including the Staggerwing, Beech 18, Bonanza, Baron, Starship, Duke and others.
Space for the KAG is limited, so make sure you register early by going to www.kingairgathering.com.