Page 26 - June 2015 Volume 9, Number 6

After an exhaustive flight test program, the Model 65-90 received FAA certification in May 1964. Corporate operators quickly embraced the new King Air. Factory workers built 112 airplanes during 1964-1966 before production shifted to the improved Model A90 that featured PT6A-20 engines. The A90 was the first King Air to feature reversible propellers. (BEECH AIRCRAFT CORPORATION/TEXTRON AVIATION)
“At Beech we took a “tinker toy” approach to new aircraft. With the Queen Air we mated a [Model 50] Twin Bonanza wing center section, wings and empennage to a larger cabin. Next, we took the PT6 installation that worked so well on the NU-8F and adapted it to a new pressurized fuselage.” 4
The prototype Model 90 made its first flight on January 20, 1964, at the factory. More than 3,000 spectators were on hand to witness the flight, which included a high-speed pass in front of the crowd. The airplane’s two PT6A-6 engines each produced 550 shp for takeoff and 500 shp for continuous operation, along with 1,192 pound-feet of torque. It had three-blade, constant-speed, full-feathering propellers, but did not feature a reversing system. A single Roost-type supercharger mounted in the left wing nacelle provided pressurization of the cabin (the PT6A-6 powerplant lacked sufficient bleed air for pressurization). Cabin pressure was limited to 3.4 pounds per square inch differential (psid) with an overpressure limit of 4.0 psid.
In terms of size, the Model 90 was similar to the Model 65-A80 with a wingspan of 45 feet, 10.5 inches,
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a height at the tip of the vertical stabilizer of 14 feet 2.5 inches, and a fuselage length of 35 feet six inches. Fuel capacity included 262 gallons in the wing tanks and another 122 gallons in nacelle tanks. Maximum gross weight was 9,300 pounds.
The successful first flight kicked off an intensive certification program that included five aircraft and resulted in the FAA issuing Type Certificate 3A20 on May 19, 1964. In June, the company set a retail price for a standard Model 90 of $320,000. By that time the company was holding orders worth $12 million, and executive vice president Frank Hedrick prophesied that sales of the King Air would climb to $22 million by the end of 1965. The first delivery of a King Air to a corporate operator occurred on July 7, when officials of United Aircraft of Canada, Ltd., accepted the keys from Olive Ann Beech. In September, the sixth Model 90 built was delivered to Atlantic Aviation Corporation’s New York Division, based at Teterboro, N.J.
When the National Business Aircraft Association convention began in November 1964, eight King Airs were already in service, and the fourth airplane built was busy in Europe conducting demonstration flights. The
JUNE 2015