Thinking of having your King Air painted? No doubt the first thing that comes to mind is the cost. New paint is pricey and you’ll want to shop around. Ten years ago, I saw quotes ranging from $25,000 to $50,000 or more to paint a 90 series King Air. With today’s prices, I bet those…
Recently, I’ve had wing bolts on the brain. I got wind of a King Air 200 getting a five-year wing bolt inspection that didn’t end up being the routine maintenance activity it should have been. On reinstallation, the technician installed the nut backward and torqued it down. He did this on both sides and damaged…
With the summer months in full swing and your calendar chock full of vacation travel, you need the air conditioning in your King Air to be in top form. Now is not the time for a breakdown. The worst-case scenario would be a diagnosis of Black Death – a devastating condition that can wreck your…
Thinking back on the King Air Gathering this past March in Phoenix, it was great to have a portion of the event in a hangar on the airport with a King Air on display and available to everyone. I was there with Travis Lamance of Haven Aero to give a maintenance technician’s perspective on certain…
Last week I was at a shop doing a clinic on engine rigging with the maintenance technicians. Conveniently, there was a King Air in the shop with engine rigging issues, and everyone benefited from the hands-on experience. We also looked at the other King Airs in the shop. We discussed squawks that had been found…
A customer called to say his R/H generator went offline mid-flight. He happened to have an F90, but this squawk could happen with any King Air. For troubleshooting purposes, I suggested he swap the generator control units to see if the problem went to the other side, and it did. I had an exchange GCU…
Years ago, a King Air 200 was in a shop for phase inspections and the owner was waiting for it to be released. It was the first phase inspection since he had purchased the aircraft. Unfortunately, the shop found both engines would not make book power – they temped out before reaching max torque –…
Let’s talk about your preflight routine. Did you know there are some simple tasks you can add to your preflight checklist that could ultimately save you thousands of dollars in maintenance costs? Your flaps are one example—do you check your flaps regularly? Remember the old adage: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of…
Recently, hot weather has been a top news story all over the United States. Areas that don’t normally see triple-digit temperatures have been getting a taste of what we deal with every summer in the desert Southwest. This got me thinking about an engine problem that can crop up when the OAT is scorching hot.…
Take a look at the wheel bearing in Figure 1 (below) – it’s dry as a bone – there’s not a speck of grease or lubrication to be found. It looks like it sat in a solvent tank for a month, then tossed on a junk pile. The crazy thing is this wheel bearing came…