McCauley Propeller Systems recently announced that its newest C780 propeller for the Beechcraft King Air B300 series, featuring four aluminum swept blades and a 105-inch diameter, has successfully achieved certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The new high-performance propeller offers King Air B300 operators additional payload, increased takeoff and climb performance, reduced noise in…
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…
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 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?…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…