Page 12 - Volume 13 Number 5

Lonnie Steverson’s King Air C90 preparing for takeoff from the 3,000-foot grass strip he has on his land.
Several years ago, he decided he wanted to add an aircraft for family flights and business missions that weren’t solo. Often operating from his own 3,000-foot grass strip, he wanted an airplane that could handle the density altitude and hot days of southern Mississippi. He also wanted to be able to fly nonstop to one of his favorite destinations: Great Guana Cay near Marsh Harbour, Bahamas, where he lands at Leonard M Thompson International Airport (MYAM).
“I am very confident in our plane and its mechanical shape, however I was flying over lots of open water with my family and sometimes would have my mother, who is president of our company, on board with me,” Lonnie said. “If we were to go down and not survive a crash, our company would be in turmoil and that was not fair to the 75-plus people or their families who depend on us to keep the company in operation. So I started looking for a twin-engine aircraft that could carry six people and go nonstop from Prentiss to Marsh Harbour at gross weight and still fly on one engine if we lost one.”
With help from his friend Paul Barnett, who owns a 1981 King Air C90 and operates it from a nearby airport, they set out to find the best plane for the mission and they settled in on the King Air 90 series aircraft.
“At this point, I did not even have a twin rating but obtained it very quickly,” Lonnie said. “I found N26RE,
10 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
a 1975 King Air C90 with -21s that is on the M.O.R.E. Program. It was equipped pretty nice and had a nice interior and paint job. We took a ride in it and, wow, I was in love. It was a strong bird and I was tickled to have found it. I had to fly it with another King Air rated pilot for a minimum of 40 hours before the insurance would allow me to be insured in it. So Paul and I flew the 40 hours off in about a month or so. We flew to Colorado Springs to eat lunch then to Texas to see family and friends. I adapted very quickly to the King Air as it is a very stable platform and a joy to fly.”
Lonnie worked with Todd Thacker, owner of Turbine Solutions in Griffin, Georgia, to upgrade the avionics. He decided to keep the steam gauges and rebuild the whole panel installing GTN 750, GNS 530, remote audio panel, remote transponder and ADS-B in and out to replicate the Commander panel.
“If I had it to do over again, I would probably go with the Garmin G600,” Lonnie said. “Now after flying it awhile, I’ve had several problems with the older gyros for the old HSI and with the G600s it’s all solid state and I wouldn’t have had those problems. At the time, I was thinking simplicity and safety between the King Air and the Commander and cost.”
Lonnie flies about 150 hours per year, about 75 hours each in the Commander and the King Air. He keeps the
MAY 2019