This month you’re getting a break from my normal efforts at imparting some King Air systems or operational knowledge to you. Instead, I am going to introduce you to two different, yet related, endeavors which I believe you will find of great interest. I want you to participate in these ventures and benefit from them.…
I recently received an email from Jay Vierling of Cincinnati, Ohio, seeking my opinion on some pressurization anomalies and what the mechanics had found. Here’s what he wrote: I have a question and haven’t been able to find any good answers. I own and fly a King Air C90B. I’ve been noticing erratic pressurization during…
I am sure many of my readers have a great deal more experience than I have in operating King Airs in remote areas where paved runways are few and far between. In fact, I’d wager that for many years now the King Air has been perhaps the most popular airplane in commercial service doing this…
A recent thread on the BeechTalk internet forum prompted the idea for this article. All models of King Airs, for many years now, require that the pilot include a first-flight-of-the-day preflight check of the accuracy of the airplane’s pitch trim indicator. In the 1970s, in England, a King Air 90 model nearly had a loss of…
Well of course it is! “Three Green, No Red;” I’m good to land. And so you are. You have verified that the individual green gear down lights are illuminated and the two lights in the landing gear handle with the red lenses are both extinguished. You have proper confirmation that your gear is safe for…
For a few years now, all King Airs with six or more installed passenger seats are required to have a Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS) onboard and operational. This is a stand-alone system in some installations and is integrated into the GPS navigator in other installations. I have a homework assignment for you: Go…
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…