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…
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…
For the last few years, I have had the honor of being asked to write an article about the King Air market, and each February I dutifully sit down and peck the keys, but by the time my article makes it to print, something crazy happens! Two years ago, I wrote about the stability of…
Over the last several years of watching King Air pilots in both their aircraft and in the simulator, it is obvious that they typically have developed their own cockpit flows and use of checklists. As Tom Clements has outlined time and time again, when you are new to flying a King Air, the checklist should…
The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) recently announced an informative series of upcoming NBAA GO virtual professional development seminars addressing common questions and concerns surrounding aircraft transactions, ownership structures and taxation, including the ramifications from COVID-19 pandemic. Beginning Tuesday, Oct. 13, the Virtual Aviation Tax & Transactions Review will encompass a series of three live…
When I was new to the aviation world, just acquiring my certificates and ratings, I would watch corporate aircraft of all sizes taxi onto the local ramp and enthusiastically greet pilots with my opinion on what a beautiful aircraft they had and how I couldn’t wait to fly one myself one day. Every now and…