In late June 2018, there was a thread on the BeechTalk forum that asked about the white circles around some cockpit switches. It also raised the question of why some switches had red inserts. I was surprised to find that some King Air pilots were not aware of the white circles’ meaning, so I decided…
I am continuing more of my personal King Air “War Stories” for this month’s article. Fuel Transfer and Crossfeed It is exceedingly common for all of us to incorrectly use “Fuel Transfer” and “Fuel Crossfeed” interchangeably. However, the words actually refer to very different things. Correctly, Transfer should always refer to the movement of fuel…
Based on feedback from last month’s article in which I related some interesting personal experiences – “War Stories” – I am continuing with additional tales this month. I hope you find them enlightening and enjoyable. Split Flaps in an A90 In the early 1980s my company, Flight Review, Inc., received a call from a fellow…
The dictionary definition of War Story is “… an account or anecdote concerning one’s personal experiences, especially in military combat …” The stories presented in this article surely come from my personal experience but I am thankful that they do not originate from military combat. Instead, they come from events in my 46 years of…
I keep observing a disturbing lack of knowledge and understanding of an aircraft’s pressurization system. Let me try to set the record straight … or at least straighten it out a little bit. I will use the numbers associated with a member of the King Air B200-series. However, what I write, with minor modifications, will…
This article originally appeared in the September 2013 issue of this magazine. Some questions that I have recently received lead me to believe it is time for a repeat. Additionally, I have added a comment about the Shock Link in the nose wheel steering mechanism. I am often asked by pilots transitioning into a King…
I addressed this in an article many moons ago, but I still observe lots of King Air pilots who have never been taught the trick that makes setting takeoff power easier and better than the technique they are currently using. The trick? Do not look at the Torque or ITT gauges until you have monitored…
Darn it, the heater is out! Now that we have been in winter’s icy grip (well, here in Phoenix, it’s more like a warming caress!), your King Air’s heater is probably getting some use. This discussion applies to the electric heater in C90s (and all the C90 variants), E90s, F90s, 100s, A100s, and B100s. In…
If your particular autopilot/flight director system does not have the IAS mode – the mode that adjusts pitch attitude to hold a particular Indicated Airspeed – then this article is not for you. Turn the page; I’ll see you next month. But for those who have this mode, let’s talk a bit about its usefulness.…
When readers send a question to me or Kim Blonigen, our editor, I try to respond directly without delay. Some questions concern a specific item that affects so few operators that publishing the reply here in my monthly column would merely be wasting ink. However, some questions lend themselves to a wider audience. This month…