Bluetail Introduces Mach 2 Search Bluetail, the leading Software as a Service (SaaS) aircraft records platform for business aviation, has introduced its second-generation Bluetail® MACH 2 Search feature. “When we introduced our MACH Search engine in 2021, it set the standard as the first machine learning search engine purpose-built to meet the specific needs of…
Bygone Bush Beech 18
Loaders rolling dynamite kegs into a ski-equipped Beechcraft S18A-172, registered CF-BGY, in Hudson, Canada (located 166 miles northwest of Lake Superior) recognized the “twin-tailed wonder” as the first of its type working commercially beyond the U.S.-Canada border. No one on that frigid January day in 1938 could have known that lessons learned would one day…
The King Air Market – Strength in Stability
The current aircraft market is enough to make your head spin! Is it getting better or is it getting worse? Are inventory levels actually going up or is it just a bunch of junk listed on Controller.com? What will I pay? Am I able to complete a prebuy inspection? Is it still a seller’s market?…
2023 Tax Incentives for Business Aircraft
Bonus depreciation continues to impact purchase decisions of many taxpayers. While the general rule is 80% bonus depreciation for business assets, business aircraft may qualify for 100% bonus depreciation in 2023. If you have signed a purchase agreement prior to 2023 and made a non-refundable deposit of at least $100,000 – you qualify to take…
Boots in the Air – Operation Airdrop activates GA community to respond to natural disasters
Robert Johnson saw a Facebook post in August 2017 from friend Doug Jackson asking fellow general aviation pilots in the Dallas area to help in an effort he was leading to fly critically-needed relief supplies to small airports in coastal Texas. While ground transportation was unsafe due to catastrophic flooding, aircraft could land with basic…
Revisiting the King Air 90 series
I fly some version of a Piper PA-46, a Daher TBM or a Beechcraft King Air five to six days a week. I’m either instructing, examining or sometimes I get to fly those beauties all by my lonesome. Not a bad gig, eh? I love my job and would not choose to do anything else. My…
The King Air Gathering 2022 at the Beechcraft Heritage Museum
To appreciate this story, I need to share some background information. In 2016 Ron McAlister, Tom Clements, Jack Braly and I were standing outside of one of the hangars at the Beech Heritage Museum (BHM). During conversation, Ron expressed he had always wanted to have a large King Air fly-in but we were unsure of…
King Air Market Report – Limited Inventory and Unbelievable Prices
I’m not sure I’m up for the challenge. Ever think that? I rarely do. I’m typically very confident in life and in business. But we all have those moments of doubt and for me they seem to come up every year about mid-January. That’s when I get an email from Kim Blonigen, the editor of…
King AIR: Skydiving operation finds success with the King Air E90
The roll-up door retracted upward as sunlight beamed through the opening. Beacon steady; green. Go, go, go! Thousands of feet of air; around a minute of free fall followed by a graceful drifting back to reality. Another takeoff in an aircraft followed by a biped landing. Jumping out of “perfectly good airplanes” is something that…
King of the Classroom – Oklahoma and North Dakota aviation programs teaching in the King Air by Grand Boyd
While King Airs are flown at several colleges across the country in faculty and staff transport roles, there are several aviation programs that offer training in some model of twin turboprop to their students. Among the short list of schools operating these aircraft are the University of Oklahoma and the University of North Dakota, both…