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it would equate to 100 square inches. Being that it is a triangle, it is about 50 square inches. Let’s see ... 50 square inches at 5.0 psi differential pressure equates to 250 pounds of force holding that window closed! You’ll need to be at almost 0 psid before the gum rapper can be discarded through that opening!
Door Opening: Unlike the window, the cabin door going open in King Airs is, sadly, not uncommon at all. A strong pet peeve of mine is hearing, while seated in the cockpit, the cabin door being closed after the last passenger is loaded. Damn! Don’t close it that way! When you haul the door up far enough to grab the handle, turn it fully open, fully CCW (counterclockwise). This withdraws the latches and hooks into the door far enough so they cannot slam-bang against the fuselage door frame. Now gently pull the door in as far as it will go and then rotate the handle fully clockwise. See? Wasn’t that quiet and pleasant? Didn’t you prevent some wear and tear on the door and its frame? Now go ahead and do your normal six or eight checks to verify the door is completely and properly closed before walking forward.
(OK, here are the checks you should make: 1. Handle won’t rotate in the open CCW position since the button is not being depressed. 2., 3., 4. and 5. The green stripe can be viewed in the port above each latch bolt. 6. Lift the middle doorstep up against its spring and verify that the red arm is engaging the plunger properly as the little diagram there shows. Push the button to illuminate the inspection light so this is all easier to see. 7. and 8. Only for the 300-series, Beech also provides viewing ports and a light to inspect the two J-hook latches on top of the closed door. Now, finally, head for the cockpit and, later, confirm that no warning annunciator for the door is illuminated.)
Based on the number of King Air doors that have opened in flight, I believe these door checks and proper operation are very important indeed. The open doors have ranged from one that popped open on takeoff rotation – the airplane remained in the pattern, landed, inspected the door for any damage (none was found) closed the door properly, and continued on the flight – and many successive flights with no problems. At the other extreme, doors have opened in flight and totally departed the airplane, taking the door cable and hydraulic snubber with them. Perhaps the worst case of which I know involved a straight 100 model in which the door detached but the hand railing/cable remained attached. The left aft fuselage was beaten and dented very badly by the door flopping at the end of its cable before the plane landed successfully.
Brake Dragging: We hope a dragging brake would be caught before the takeoff roll began. It certainly could be difficult, if not impossible, to differentiate a dragging brake from some other steering problem. Definitely time to abort and correct the problem(s).
Blown Tire: Man, you’re really having a bad day, aren’t you?! Guess what? A single flat main tire on any King
JANUARY 2024
Air with dual mains will probably never be observed until the next preflight. “Where did that hole in the outboard’s tread come from?!” On the other hand, a 90-series model with a single main on each side ... oh yeah, that will become immediately noticeable. Is there still room to easily abort? If so, that is of course the wise course of action. On the other hand, if available distance is “iffy” it might be better to continue to fly and head for an airport with a long and wide runway and with crash-equipment standing by.
Steering Failure, Loss of Normal Directional Control:
As in most Beechcrafts, the King Air series can maneuver quite well on the ground with the nosewheel steering system totally disconnected. Differential braking combined with a free-swiveling nose wheel is quite manageable.
But what if the nose wheel is not free to swivel? This can be the result of the nose wheel steering shock link assembly no longer being “assembled.” In that case, the nose wheel may end up with a “neutral” position that is many degrees away from the proper, straight ahead position. As stated before, speed is the factor that will determine if this is an easily handled, early abort or if it’s going to be a hair-raising race to liftoff speed. The good news is that if the nose wheel steering worked normally on the way to the runway, chances are good
KING AIR
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KING AIR MAGAZINE • 23