Page 6 - November 2022

“We’re fortunate that Mrs. Beech was willing to put her money and her name on the line when a lot of people were against the idea of the King Air. They didn’t realize they were building a turboprop that would outlast every other brand.’’
“We’re fortunate that Mrs. Beech was willing to put her money and her name on the line when a lot of people were against the idea of the King Air. They didn’t realize they were building a turboprop that would outlast every other brand,” Glidewell said of the Beechcraft King Air Model 90 that entered service in 1964 and expanded quickly to a line of business turboprops that today tops 7,700 aircraft delivered.
“The way I look at it, we’re sitting here as owners and pilots reaping all the benefits of one of the most reliable airplanes ever built,” he added. “It seems like we should do something to honor the people who brought us these great airplanes.”
The King Air B200 owner and pilot was so sure other King Air devotees felt the same that he reached out to his friend Kevin Carson at King Air Academy, who founded and at the time was organizing the annual King Air Gathering events. They did some research and could not find a Hall of Fame dedicated to the King Air, so they got to work creating one. Both men were part of a selection committee that inducted the inaugural class of the King Air Hall of Fame at the 2022 King Air Gathering held at the Beechcraft Heritage Museum in Tullahoma, Tennessee. The inductees ranged from early pioneers including Mrs. Beech and LeRoy Clay, who added the T-tail to the King Air 200, to recipients who have continued to improve the King Air line or supported owners and pilots of the King Air family, including James Raisbeck and Tom Clements (see box on page 5 for a list of all recipients).
This wasn’t the first time Glidewell has gotten an idea he can’t shake until he sees it through. He was fascinated with big trucks as a kid and turned that notion into a successful career, he got the flying bug when he was 30 years old and now has 9,000 flight hours, and he says he’s been hooked on the King Air for the past two decades.
4 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
NOVEMBER 2022