Issued: December 2015
ATA 04 – King Air Special Purpose Aircraft – Wing Life Evaluation
All
The King Air was designed and certified as an executive transport airplane. This means that the King Air was designed to carry passengers from point A to point B by taking off, ascending to a comfortable cruising altitude (generally above 20,000 feet), and descending after an hour or more of flight and landing at the destination.
The standard inspection program was developed to provide the level of inspection needed to ensure that the airplane operates in a safe and reliable manner throughout the life of the airplane.
Operators around the world have discovered that the King Air is an excellent platform for a number of missions outside the executive transport role. Operators have found that the King Air can be used in ambulance operations, maritime patrol, airway calibration, mosquito control, surveillance, mapping, search and rescue and lead airplanes for forest fire control, just to mention a few.
These missions, however, differ from the original intent for what the airplane was designed. The standard wing inspection program may not provide the adequate level of inspection to ensure a continued safe operation of the airplane. The King Air Structural Inspection and Repair Manual (SIRM) states the following. This is typical for the section covering the King Air 200 but it reads similar for the other models:
The inspection schedule (Chart 201) in Chapter 57-17-01 and 57-17-02 identifies the inspection areas, initial inspection periods, recurring inspection intervals and component replacement times. This schedule is based on airplane utilization, operation and maintenance in the category of service for which the airplane was originally designed; specifically, a pressurized executive or corporate transportation vehicle wherein the majority of cruise is above 10,000 feet altitude and flight duration is more than one hour. Should the aircraft be used for missions other than that intended by design, such as an air taxi, commuter air service, pipeline surveillance, livestock/predator animal control, search and rescue, navigation aids inspection, extraordinary service at low altitude or unusually short duration flights (less than 30 minutes), the inspections specified in the Standard Flight Profile Inspection Schedule (Chart 201) are not appropriate for continued airworthiness of the airplane structure. In such cases, promptly notify Beechcraft Technical Support and a special inspection program will be established to address the unique requirements of the airplane’s mission.
The King Air SIRM is a FAA-approved manual, therefore this requirement is mandatory. Operators must contact Beechcraft via Technical Support to obtain an inspection program. The end result is a special inspection program specifically for the serial number of the airplane based on the mission profiles the airplane is flying. The inspection program is then listed in the Airworthiness Limitations Manual (ALM) for the airplane under the Special Purposes Section of the ALM. For operators who do not want their mission profiles to be known to the world, they can opt to having an Airworthiness Limitations Supplement or SIRM Supplement specifically for their serial number airplane.
Beechcraft Engineering requires the basic flight profile information to be able to perform the Wing Evaluation on your King Air. First, you need to collect as much information as available on the past, present and future flight profiles for each mission the airplane has or is going to fly and send it to Beechcraft Customer Service along with a list of the STCs or modifications the airplane has installed and the total times and cycles at time of installation. In the event the future usage is not established due to the aircraft just entering into the projected role, Beechcraft Engineering can recommend a time for which data collection can occur to establish a representative future usage.
The Flight Profile Definition Requirements (shown on the actual Communiqué) provide the details Engineering needs to perform the evaluation. You can also depict the flight profiles in a graph form (as also shown on actual Communiqué).
The process of developing a Wing Life Evaluation is extensive and requires several departments’ involvement from structures, certification, publications, etc. The cost to develop the evaluation depends on the level of study needed which depends on the complexity of the flight profiles and can take up to nine months to complete due to interaction required with the regulatory authorities.
The final published results of the evaluation establishes reduced inspection intervals, but does not add any additional locations to those defined in the SIRM, and in some cases establishes new wing and component life limits, depending on the model King Air.
Once you have all the information required, you can contact King Air Technical Support. We will collect all the information and get you in contact with the Contracts Department. The contact information for King Air Technical Support is as follows:
Kingair_support@txtav.com
1-800-429-5372
316-676-3140
ATA 61 – King Air C90GTx Swept Blade Propellers
LJ-2121 and after Beechcraft has made a model change to the King Air C90GTx starting at LJ-2121. These airplanes are equipped with Swept Blade Hartzell Propellers HC-D4N-3C/D9510SK. The propellers are installed on the assembly line under Raisbeck Engineering’s Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) SA3593NM. The Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICA) for the STC are delivered with
the airplane.
This is a reminder that these airplanes must be maintained in accordance with Raisbeck Engineering Maintenance Manual Document 85-120 and not the King Air 90 Maintenance Manual. This document is available for download from Raisbeck Engineering’s website at www.raisbeck.com.
The above information is abbreviated for space purposes. For the entire communication, go to www.beechcraft.com.
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