Page 10 - Feb 24

Beech Aircraft company leaders and first flight test pilots, from left to right: Jim Lew, vice president of Engineering; Mrs. Olive Ann Beech, CEO; Gregg Vaughn, co-pilot of the first flight; Jim Webber, chief engineer of Flight Test and pilot-in-command of first flight; Frank Hedrick, soon-to-be president; and Wyman Henry, head of Sales and Marketing. (Textron Aviation)
71 examples were delivered from 1960-1963, the Army brass wanted an opportunity to take a hard and long look at Beech Aircraft’s latest creation and investigate its potential for military service.
Meanwhile, back in Wichita, prep- arations were underway to begin production of the Model 90 King Air. With a wingspan of 45 feet, 10.5 inches; a length of 35 feet, six inches and a height of 14 feet, 2.5 inches to the top of its swept vertical stabi- lizer, the Model 90 had a maximum gross weight of 9,300 pounds and a fuel capacity of 122 gallons of jet fuel carried in nacelle-mounted tanks with another 262 gallons in wing tanks. Three-blade, constant-speed, full-feathering propellers were stan- dard equipment (early production aircraft were not fitted with revers- ible propellers).
“ ... the engineers and Beechcraft marketing officials believed it would put the company far ahead of the competition – exactly where Olive Ann Beech wanted it to be.”
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8 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
FEBRUARY 2024