Page 12 - January 2015 Volume 9, Number1

The airplane used for the California-Hawaii flights is one of Beechcraft’s two King Air 350ER special mission demonstrators that tour the world. This one – N350KA/ serial number FL-924 – has an interior that shows both a four-seat executive club configuration including writing tables in the front cabin and an air ambulance configuration with a fully functioning medical station including medical oxygen, vacuum and pressure, a medical cabinet and a side-facing, three-place couch.
“When the extended-range fuel tanks were added to the King Air 350 and branded the 350ER, it took a platform already utilized for staying aloft for extended periods in search and rescue, reconnaissance, aerial survey, etc. and gave it an additional 236 gallons of fuel to stay aloft even longer,” Mohler said. “Demonstrating the aircraft can fly up to 2,580 nautical miles and 12 hours economically, places it in a category very few products are capable of doing.”
The Flights
The night before departure, the pilots stocked up on water, soda, sandwich supplies and snacks. “Probably the biggest challenge on long flights like these are physiological – food and potty brakes,” Mohler said. “John and I would take turns going to the cabin to take care of said requirements.”
The pilots departed Napa with full fuel at 5,192 pounds and landed in Honolulu with 790 pounds remaining. The 2,121-nautical-mile flight took eight hours, 52 minutes with average winds aloft of 237 degrees at 33 knots. The pilots reported cruise altitude of 28,000 feet and an average groundspeed of 240 knots.
“When we reached the halfway point, I was very optimistic we had the fuel required to complete the flight and very proud of the airplane and the people who made this possible,” Guidry said. “On final approach into Honolulu, I remember trying to get a glimpse of Pearl Harbor. I could only imagine what went through the minds of our military personnel that fateful morning of December 7th.”
The mood changed from solemn to celebratory quickly.
“Upon landing, we were met by a young Hawaiian woman who was the customer service representative for our handling agent,” Guidry said. “As we were securing the aircraft, she asked if we wanted a mai tai. Of course after an eight hour, 53 minute flight, we gave a resounding ‘yes.’”
Guidry and Mohler had plenty of time to get to know each other on the long haul to Hawaii, including reminiscing about comfort foods from their youth. So when it was Guidry’s turn to shop for provisions for the flight back to California, he remembered Mohler mentioning liverwurst sandwiches his mother made. He made sure to stock some for his co-pilot.
10 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
Longtime Beechcraft sales demonstration pilots John Guidry (left) and Mark Mohler made the proving flights between California-Hawaii.
Returning from Honolulu to Napa, the 350ER again took off with full fuel and landed with 900 pounds at shutdown. The trip covered 2,131 nautical miles in eight hours, 17 minutes. Cruise altitude was 31,000 feet, then 33,000 feet for the final third of the flight with average winds aloft of 234 degrees at 15 knots and an average groundspeed of 257 knots.
While every effort is made by the flight planning agencies to provide accurate winds, seasonal winds are a factor when flying the Pacific Ocean and can change unexpectedly. Both pilots said having plenty to keep their minds focused on during the flight made the time in the air go quickly.
“On a trip like this, the pilots are busy monitoring the aircraft’s progress with the master document flight plan log,” Mohler said. “Obviously there isn’t anywhere to land and get fuel, so monitoring fuel burn is very important. The crew is constantly tracking winds aloft as well as the weather at destination and alternate airports. Every hour there are required position reports to ATC, so time goes by pretty fast.”
The Significance
California-Hawaii is an important stage length for aircraft lacking in-flight refueling capability, and while the mission has always been successful on paper, now the 350ER is the first King Air class airplane to have demonstrated the mission in a standard production configuration.
“Making these oceanic flights demonstrates that operators can go anywhere in the world without the need for installing internal ferry tanks,” Keady said. “There are some government organizations that have rapid response requirements to be able to stage halfway around the world and be prepared to conduct operations on arrival. The King Air 350ER can do that without
JANUARY 2015