Blog : Feature

What’s UP With the King Air Market?

What’s UP With the King Air Market?

Each January I sit down to write the annual article on the King Air market and each year I wonder how different the market may look by the time it is published – and by the time you, the reader, are reading these words. First, a look back at 2025 I’ll start with a recap…

Making Friends With Queen Air C-FWZG: Flying airborne geophysical survey missions in the King Air’s foremother

Making Friends With Queen Air C-FWZG: Flying airborne geophysical survey missions in the King Air’s foremother

The instant the water bottle touched my lips, gusts generated by stone-walled castles and manors below our 50-foot, 6-inch two-spar wing forced the container airborne. Beside me, in the aircraft’s 266-cubic-foot interior, the copilot’s seeping airsickness bag flopped onto the floor and split. Steady on heading, I contemplated why I happened to be 400 feet…

First Woman to Solo in the USA: Blanche Scott or Bessie Raiche?

First Woman to Solo in the USA: Blanche Scott or Bessie Raiche?

Just seven years after the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk, two women joined the ranks of American aviators. Blanche Scott and Bessie Raiche each made solo flights in 1910, the first women in America to do so. Today, historians are fairly certain that Blanche flew before Bessie, but in 1910, there was some confusion…

Head Out on the Highway – Legendary Route 66 turns 100

Head Out on the Highway – Legendary Route 66 turns 100

Hundreds of communities across eight states are planning events and activities to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Route 66, a historic federal highway synonymous with freedom and adventure. Designated as U.S. Highway 66 on April 30, 1926, the highway connected Chicago and Los Angeles, providing a reliable route through the Midwest. Officially established on Nov.…

Agenda Announced  for 2026 Gathering

Agenda Announced for 2026 Gathering

by King Air Gathering organizers King Air Gathering co-hosts King Air Nation and BLR Aerospace have announced the speakers, companion activities and a full list of educational and networking events attendees can expect during the 2026 King Air Gathering happening March 26-28 in Horseshoe Bay, Texas. KAG’s venue is Horseshoe Bay Resort, featuring Texas Hill…

Garmin Autoland Achieves First Confirmed In-service Activation: King Air B200 pilots consciously allowed automated landing after pressurization event in Colorado

The first confirmed in-service activation of Garmin’s Autoland set the general aviation community abuzz in late December and offered confirmation that the automated landing system can deploy as designed in an actual emergent situation. A 1984 Beechcraft King Air B200 (N479BR, serial number BB-1179) unexpectedly demonstrated the technology that won the 2020 Robert J. Collier…

Registration Open for 2026 Gathering at Horseshoe Bay, Texas

Registration Open for 2026 Gathering at Horseshoe Bay, Texas

2026 King Air Gathering March 26-28 Horseshoe Bay Resort in Texas Hill Country Registration and more info: kingairgathering.com By King Air Gathering organizers We’re moving the 2026 King Air Gathering to Horseshoe Bay Resort. While it’s a new venue, expect the same exceptional gathering hosted by King Air Nation and BLR Aerospace. Set in the…

Building Skills + Passion: North America’s largest college-level aerospace technical school has two King Airs among its nearly 40 aviation maintenance instructional platforms

Building Skills + Passion: North America’s largest college-level aerospace technical school has two King Airs among its nearly 40 aviation maintenance instructional platforms

Photos by Pierre Gillard/Passion Aviation unless noted Passengers waiting for the whisper of airline tires touching tarmac at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International sometimes glimpse another series of runways as they turn final. Few realize that six buildings across the fast-flowing, freighter-packed St. Lawrence River host an assortment of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft that belong to…

2026 General Aviation Industry Events

Feb. 13-15: AOPA Fly-In at Buckeye Air Fair, Buckeye, Arizona March 19-21: Women in Aviation International Conference, Dallas, Texas March 23-26: Aircraft Electronics Association International Convention & Trade Show, Dallas, Texas March 26-28: King Air Gathering, Horseshoe Bay, Texas April 14-19: SUN ’n FUN Aerospace Expo, Lakeland, Florida April 22-25: AERO Friedrichshafen, Friedrichshafen, Germany May…