Page 12 - June 2022

Tom Clements
Don Cary
for maintenance advice. Mr. Benedict finally opened his own maintenance shop, Honest Air Inc., located in Henderson, Nevada, which quickly became the place to take your King Air for maintenance. After a lease buyout, Honest Air closed in March 2016 and Mr. Benedict now consults King Air owners, pilots, managers and mechanics through BeechMedic, LLC. He also is the author of the regular column “Maintenance Tips” in King Air magazine.
Don Cary
After the King Air was introduced, the company needed to prepare for a new era of pilots and more powerful aircraft. Mr. Cary was hired in 1966 by Beech Aircraft as a King Air training specialist when the A-90 had just been introduced. He taught ground training and checked out customer pilots for over two years and then transitioned to manager of the Customer Training Program. He eventually moved up to director of Customer Support, which involved Beech’s training program, parts support, technical support and the technical publications department. Don retired from the company 37 years later where his last position was vice president of Customer Relations.
Tom Clements
Mr. Clements has been flying and instructing in King Airs for more than 50 years, beginning his career at the Beech Aircraft Training Center in 1972 and through his own company, Flight Review, which he started in 1979. He has over 15,000 hours in King Air aircraft and is type-rated in the King Air 300 and Beechcraft 1900 models. He is also author of the The King Air Book and The King Air Book Volume II, as well as a regular contributor with his own column “Ask the Expert” for King Air magazine. He also actively mentors the instructors at King Air Academy in Phoenix, Arizona.
James Raisbeck*
Mr. Raisbeck used his aeronautical engineering degree and entrepreneurial spirit to develop a variety of performance enhancing modification systems for production aircraft including the King Air. More than 64% of the King Airs in operation today have at least one Raisbeck Engineering modification. Several of Raisbeck’s products have also been incorporated into the production line including Dual Aft Body Strakes and Nacelle Wing Lockers on the King Air 350/360, Ram Air Recovery System on the King Air 250/260 and propellers on the King Air C90.
There are many more people who had a hand in making the King Air the bestselling business turboprop family in the world. This is just the beginning of those who will be honored and inducted into the King Air Hall of Fame ... and it’s long past overdue. KA
Thanks to Kevin Carson for sharing his research.
*The honorees were selected to be presented at the 2020 King Air Gathering which was canceled due to the pandemic as well as in 2021. Mr. Raisbeck unfortunately passed away before we could personally present him with this well-deserved honor.
James Raisbeck
10 • KING AIR
JUNE 2022
MAGAZINE