Page 14 - Volume 14 Number 11

LETTER TO TO THE EDITOR
King Air 360 Comments
In reference to the the article announcing the the King Air 360 in in in the September 2020 issue of King Air magazine I started flying King Airs a a a a little over 30 years ago before going into the airline industry Due to to 9/11 I was furloughed in in in December 2001 from the airlines During that time I received my BE-350 type rating and flew the airplane for for about 100 hours before being called back by my airline employer After five more years there I grew tired of the commute to to Minneapolis and left to to take a a a a a a job flying a a a a a a Beechcraft King Air 350 That was in in in 2008 and I I have have been flying the 350 ever since I I have have accumulated about 3 600 hours in in the aircraft since getting the type rating It is a a a a a a marvelous airplane that actually delivers on almost all all of its selling points There is no other turboprop out there that compares to the the the dispatch reliability and capability of the King Air 350 When Beechcraft recently introduced the new King Air 360 I was ready to see what they had come up with only to to be totally disappointed with the reality of what the new airplane actually was The company could have made a a a a a a couple of changes that would have enhanced the airplane even more First of all in in my humble opinion they should have put the the the -67 engines on the the the airplane with an increased gross weight second it should have the new 5-blade props for both efficiency and quietness And auto throttles on on a a a a King Air? Really? I don’t understand that one at at all Maybe I am just getting older and apply too much practicality to to everything Please don’t get me wrong here I love the 350 and what it does for our corporate flight department but if you are going to to upgrade an an an airplane I want to to see some real changes made that will increase the performance first of all and then maybe some other add-ons The new 360 is not an an airplane that I would recommend to my owners to replace our “good ‘ole 350 ”
Respectfully submitted John Bumpers Chief Pilot Saulsbury Aviation LLC Odessa Texas
12 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
NOVEMBER 2020 THE New LEVEL
NEXT King Air 360 gets technology & comfort upgrades
Two major upgrades
in in the the the Pro Line Fusion avionics-equipped cockpit are the the the IS&S ThrustSense Autothrottle and the the the new digital pressurization controller by MeLinda Schnyder
In a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a sign of of these pandemic times Textron Aviation last month launched the the the the new flagship of the the Beechcraft King Air family with online fanfare only On Aug 4 the the company posted a a a a a a a a a a a a 10-minute recorded video on on on its social media channels followed by distributing a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a press release with details of the the King Air 360 360 and and 360ER a a a a a a a a a a a a blockpoint change incorporating new new features and and structural updates on on on the the 300-series production production line The new new model is is currently in in in in in in production production and and the the company expects deliveries to begin this fall SEPTEMBER 2020 KING AIR MAGAZINE
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