Photos courtesy Textron Aviation Five Beechcraft King Air turboprops participated in the ninth Special Olympics Airlift to support the Special Olympics USA Games in Minnesota, where children and adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities compete in Olympic-type sports on a national level. Led by Cessna and Beechcraft and organized by Textron Aviation, approximately 130 Beechcraft,…
One evening at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, I was walking behind a gray-haired pilot and his wife. It had been a hot, lengthy day of airshows and he was holding on to his wife for a little extra support as he made the long walk from the flight line to the far reaches of the parking…
The heritage, innovation and technological advances of aviation in the U.S. over the past century will be part of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2026, the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual fly-in convention. The 73rd edition of the weeklong event runs July 20-26 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin – just weeks after July Fourth’s highly-anticipated 250th…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
The older (or should we call them vintage?) pilots will tell you how easy it is to navigate these days, with inexpensive GPS systems in our phones, electronic tablets and cockpits. We only need to look for the little airplane icon to see we’re over the Wabash River and the nearest airport is 4 miles…
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…