Page 8 - April 25

a pair of four-blade props because the mechanics set
the low idle improperly. They followed the MM, which
applied to the three-blade props original to the aircraft.
The four-blade props were an STC’d upgrade, and the
proper low idle setting was in the ICA.
Maintenance tracking
Keeping track of these calendar, hour and cycle
requirements may seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have
to be. When I had my shop, I tracked the maintenance
status for King Airs that came to me on a regular basis.
I developed a simple three-page form showing the
required maintenance items, when they were last done
(date, hours or cycles) and when they were next due
(date, hours or cycles). At the end of every phase, I
debriefed my customer on everything accomplished in
that maintenance visit and gave them an updated status
sheet. Customers loved it. Pilots flying multiple King Airs
went home and made their own Excel spreadsheets for
each King Air they flew.
Many shops do something along these lines for their
regular customers. I did it at no charge, except for the
first visit, which required extensive logbook study to
ascertain the maintenance status of that King Air, and
I charged a nominal fee for that.
There are, of course, maintenance tracking services
and you’ll find several to choose from. They research
your logbooks for a baseline report and update it based
6 •
­ KING AIR MAGAZINE “Regardless of which inspection program
your King Air is on, you can see that King
Airs have quite a few components subject to
special inspection, overhaul or replacement.”
on maintenance records you provide. Their reports are
extensively detailed and can run 100 pages or more.
These services are great for managing a flight department
with multiple aircraft, but they may seem like overkill
for a King Air owner/operator.
You can hire a maintenance manager to keep track of
what is coming due on your aircraft. I have done this. My
customer (or their pilot) sends me the log entries from
the last maintenance visit, I update the status report
and I email it to the pilot before he plans the next one.
Bring the logbooks to maintenance
I can’t emphasize this enough: Even if you return to
the same shop every time, the mechanic needs your
logbooks – and your POH – for reference. Inevitably,
when the logbooks aren’t there, something pops up
during inspection and your mechanic needs to research
something. It’s Murphy’s law. So please, please bring
them.
In closing, remember this from FAR 91.403(a): “The
owner or operator of an aircraft is primarily responsible
for maintaining that aircraft in an airworthy condition
…” Aircraft owners who are not pilots must take heed
of this responsibility. Clearly, the owner of the King Air
with no maintenance for three years was remiss. That
said, I wish you many happy and safe hours in your
King Air. KA
Dean Benedict is a certified A&P, AI with 50 years of experience in King
Air maintenance. He was an inaugural inductee to the King Air Hall of
Fame. He owned and ran Honest Air Inc., a Beechcraft maintenance
boutique with a strong following of King Airs, for 15 years. Currently,
with BeechMedic LLC, Dean and his wife, Lisa, consult with owners,
pilots and mechanics on King Air maintenance issues, troubleshooting
and pre-buys. Dean performs expert witness work on request. He can
be reached at 702-524-4378 or via email at dr.dean@beechmedic.com.
APRIL 2025