Page 7 - April 2022

“I love to stop in repair shops and completion centers and ask to take the interior folks out to show them our King Air,” Jeff said. “What we’ve done to the interior truly is a transformation.”
Whether during one of those impromptu interior tours or when an operator sits inside the airplane at a trade show, Jeff said it’s not uncommon for the 43-year-old aircraft to be mistaken for the latest King Air C90GT model.
“That’s a pretty good compliment,” said Jeff, who started the business with his father G.R. Lowe in 1978.
The Lowes operated a 1967 King Air A90 from 2000 until 2015, when they replaced it with the C90 with the intention of creating a flying showroom. That same year, AvFab began marketing its extensive King Air interior upgrade options as the AvFabulous package.
Operators can mix and match the available mods or integrate them all; the company’s C90 showcases the entire package. That includes an arm ledge table system, pleated window shades, lateral tracking seat bases, aft jump seat kit, clear view hidden headrests and a lighter, more modern side-facing seat.
Jeff said the upgrade that improves cabin aesthetics and functionality the most is their arm ledge table system that replaces the original recessed table style, giving passengers a sturdier table, four deep cup holders that are accessible at all times and new sidewall panels that incorporate the arm ledge style of the latest production models.
“What’s great is that we offer all of these mods you’ll see on the C90 for the 200 series as well, so a 200 operator can sit in our demonstrator and get a feel for what the mod is going to do to their airplane’s interior,” he said.
Providing solutions for King Airs has been a focus of the business since its start, but AvFab’s scope has expanded to include more than 150 unique STC products and foreign approvals for more than 18 different
aircraft models. They could easily choose another aircraft type to outfit as a demonstrator.
“We’ve worked with and around King Airs for nearly 35 years and flown a King Air for 22 years,” Jeff said. “We choose the King Air to operate because we think it’s the safest and the best turboprop platform available that fits our needs.”
Becoming a ‘better pilot’
G.R.’s father was an instructor during World War II for the Civilian Pilot Training program and introduced G.R. to aviation at a very young age. Eventually, G.R. would trade washing airplanes or chores for airplane rides and lessons from a local crop duster. He worked in the oil industry and additionally flew for the company he worked for, while also running a flight school and a single-engine piston charter business when he and Jeff launched their business.
Jeff’s first flight was in his father’s first airplane, a Cessna 170B. G.R., an 11,000-hour pilot, gave him his first flying lesson when Jeff was 15 and continued instructing Jeff through multi-engine and instrument ratings and, recently, his tailwheel endorsement that he earned in November 2021.
Jeff, a 3,000-hour pilot, flew about 350 hours in the past year. Beyond 100 hours in the King Air, he flew a trio of single-engine pistons: AvFab’s six-seat PA-32 Piper Lance, G.R.’s two-place 1945 Aeronca Champ tailwheel and a Cessna 206 he purchased in 2021 for missionary bush flying in Alaska.
“I wanted to get my tailwheel endorsement because it’ll make me a better pilot,” he said. “You get in the King Air, you put some numbers in and it’s so easy to fly. You have got to fly the Champ. It is a great primary; you really feel that airplane when you’re flying it. It’s been great to get in an airplane that burns 4 gallons an hour and fly it as much as I want to sharpen skills.”
APRIL 2022
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 5