Page 32 - Volume 15 Number 8

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30 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
AUGUST 2021
Unfortunately, it was determined through wind tunnel tests that the empennage configuration of the A100/B100 did not provide good airflow characteristics for the rudder under single-engine conditions, particularly at increased angles of attack normally associated with single-engine operations. As a result, Beechcraft engineers designed a T-tail configuration that not only proved acceptable under single-engine minimum controllable airspeeds but met FAA certification rules without imposing high rudder pedal forces on the pilot.
Compared to the Model A100/B100’s conventional empennage, the T-tail design required fewer pitch trim changes as flaps were extended, and with the horizontal stabilizer moved to the top and aft (because of the vertical stabilizer’s sweptback design), the elevators proved quite powerful even at aft CG loading. “Now, with a much smaller horizontal surface than the 100,” [Beech engineers] “could revert to conventional trim tabs on the elevators and yet achieve a 4-inch greater CG range for the same cabin dimensions,” King Air expert Tom Clements said.
With the empennage configuration established, the Model 200 program moved forward. In 1970 two prototype airplanes were built, BB-1 and BB-2 (the letters “BB” were chosen to identify the Model 200 series and remain in use for production aircraft). BB-1 first flew October 27, 1972, with Beech Aircraft engineering flight test pilot Bud Francis at the controls and he also commanded BB-2 during its inaugural flight December 15 of that year.
The T-tail and rudder combination, although it proved highly effective under single engine conditions, required a cautious approach to flight testing as pilots carefully probed its characteristics. Clements recalls that as a result, BB-1 was equipped with a stick shaker, stick pusher, a rudder boost system and one additional safety system – a drag chute housed in a special tail cone. If the airplane failed to recover from a stall under aft center of gravity (CG) and high angle of attack conditions by pitching nose-up instead of nose down, the chute could be deployed by an explosive charge and “break” the stall.
Following an exhaustive flight test program that spanned more than a year, the FAA certified the Model 200 in December 1973 and initial customer deliveries began in February 1974. In addition to commercial sales, the U.S. Army and Air Force were quick to order military versions of the Model 200 for use as VIP and utility transports.
In 1974, serial numbers BB-3, -4 and -5 were converted for the Army and carried the Beech Aircraft designation “A100-1.” That year the Air Force ordered a batch of 14 airplanes designated “C-12A” (Beech Model A200), and the factory produced another 20 airplanes in 1975 for the Army and Air Force. The last 20 C-12A aircraft were delivered to the Air Force in 1978.