Reversing propellers made their appearance on the King Air A90 that ushered in the 1966 model year. The Straight 90 model of 1964 and 1965 utilized non-reversing propellers similar to those that were installed on the Lycoming-powered Queen Airs being concurrently produced. As one would expect, reversing propellers were a big hit and although they…
If you are not currently flying a member of the 200-series family, up to serial number BB-1459, then this article is not for you. You won’t hurt my feelings if you immediately jump to the next article in this magazine. But since this quite important topic applies to well over 1,000 airplanes, I think it…
A student who was going through initial King Air training once said to me, “I felt comfortable flying the King Air in an hour, but it took about a month to learn how to start the SOB!” I think we would all agree that the King Air – all the various models – are delightful…
This article first appeared in the January 2012 issue of this magazine. It is also a chapter in The King Air Book – Volume II. It is significant enough to merit reprinting here both to enlighten newer readers, as well as to provide a review for seasoned King Air veterans. The original King Air, the…
Are you familiar with the title’s term, “Catching the Cabin?” It usually refers to the action, in a descent, of having the airplane’s altitude match the cabin’s altitude. Why does this happen? Three reasons come to mind. First, the pilot forgets to set the cabin altitude properly for the landing condition. Especially when flying as…
Still being an active motorcycle rider at age 75 – I know, I know, I’m crazy! – it is quite disturbing to read nearly on a monthly basis about a motorcycle involved in an accident with a car in which the car driver is reported to have said, “I never saw him! He wasn’t there…
As I write this near the end of August 2020, the “ADS Crash” thread on the BeechTalk forum is approaching 100 pages. As most of you know, in June 2019 a tragic accident occurred at Addison airport (KADS) in Dallas, Texas. A nearly new King Air 350i departing on a flight to Florida, crashed into…
If your King Air is a senior citizen built before the late 1970s, I am betting that you are quite familiar with the use of the “Man Cool” and “Man Heat” modes of operation of your environmental mode selector. Why? Because the kinks associated with the Auto mode of environmental control had not yet been…
W hy do some King Airs have the Rudder Boost (RB) system installed and others do not? No, the answer is not that Rudder Boost was an extra-cost option, similar to a particular piece of avionics. Instead, some models were certified with RB as standard equipment and others were not. From the first King Air…
What’s your King Air to you? Is it only an inanimate object that provides transportation convenience for the owner(s)? Or is it something more, something that provides that mystical “pride of ownership” that makes you smile whenever you see it? For a lot of us – especially the owner-pilots among us – the King Air…