Ever since the first reversing propellers appeared on King Airs – with the introduction of the A90 in 1966 – there has not been universal agreement concerning where the propeller levers should be positioned before landing. The Beech Pilots’ Operating Manuals (POMs, earlier models) or Pilots’ Operating Handbooks (POHs, later models) were consistent in stating…
There is really nothing new in this article. If you are totally comfortable with your descents and have learned the techniques presented in my or King Air Academy’s Flight Training Notes, then you are wasting time here. Move along; nothing to see here. But if you have not yet learned these tips, you’re about to…
I received a recent phone call from a fellow who was preparing to attend initial King Air B200 training at the King Air Academy. This man had no previous King Air experience, although he had flown in both the military and airline worlds. He was requesting a copy of the Normal Procedures checklist so that he…
Did the article’s title cause you a moment of uncertainty? That was my intent: To change the name of a well-known King Air system component so as to turn it into a description of its function. As most of you have likely figured out by now, this article is about the Pressurization Controller … which…
Now that summertime is arriving again, I thought it would be timely to present a simple PT6 starting modification that you should probably be making during some of your upcoming starts. As I have often said, when a Ground Power Unit (GPU) is conveniently available, that’s the way to go, especially on very hot days.…
This week I flew with an owner-pilot of a beautiful, late-model King Air 300, doing a bit of in-aircraft recurrent training. He mentioned that when he received his Initial training in this plane a few years ago the instructor emphasized, often and forcefully, that the propeller speed must be reduced back to 1,500 RPM (from…
It is likely that the majority of operating King Airs in use no longer have a rotating beacon. A beacon? Sure. One with an electric motor that rotates the bulb(s)? Quite unlikely. Those old beacon motors were a weak link in the system, often freezing in one position. One theory is that the grease in…
I always appreciate when readers of our magazine take the time to contact Kim Blonigen, our editor, with operational questions they would like me to address. I try to reply as rapidly as possible to the person who is posing the question. Sometimes, ideas for an entire article or two are prompted by the question(s), whereas…
Marc Wolf, a Southern California long-time pilot, instructor, and King Air magazine reader, has requested that I write about the different King Air PT6 shutdown fuel purge systems that have been used through the years. I appreciate the suggestion of this interesting topic and will address it here. First, realize that kerosene is actually more difficult…
Why, yes indeed! All straight 90s, A90s and B90s use a single supercharger, driven by the left engine, as the source of air inflow for cabin pressurization. The PT6A-6 and PT6A-20 engines that these models used had lower compression ratios and delivered less air than later members of the PT6A family, yet in 1971 when…