Page 6 - Nov23

The most beautiful scenery flying out of Nuuk, Greenland.
enough, there’s no physical trim wheel available to the pilot, only electric trim.
The end result is a short wing, large fuselage, incredibly efficient, fairly fast and loud-as-hell-on-the-ground King Air that behaves in flight like none of the other King Air aircraft. The King Air fleet is so ubiquitous that any properly trained King Air pilot of any model could jump in any of the other various models and feel right at home within a few laps around the pattern ... except for the B100.
Despite its differences, the B100 is one of my favorite airplanes to fly. Comparing it to the A100 that is identical to the B100 except that it has PT6 engines, the B100 betters the A100 by 20+ knots and uses less fuel. Many say it is like owning a 200 for half the price ... and they might not be far off. Because of its efficient numbers, the B100 has a loyal following, but those supporters are few and far between compared to the rest of the King Air fleet. It is not an airplane that is widely loved, but it is absolutely loved by those who know it best.
My company, Casey Aviation, has operated a King Air B100 for the last decade, so I’ve become one of its loyal supporters. I also have international flight experience and an adventurous spirit, which is how I became involved when a South African owner purchased a -10 powered B100 from Florida and needed it flown across three continents.
The Journey Begins
In July 2023, I found myself in south Florida to pick up N136MB, a very nice B100 with low-time -10 engines. I met Byron Lutzke, the pilot for the new South African owner, at Fort Myers. Byron had never flown a B100 nor a multi-continent, international ferry flight, so I was PIC, but I quickly found Byron to be an excellent pilot, eager to gain flight experience in both the aircraft and the route. I sat in the left seat and Byron observed and ran the radios from the right.
We launched into an overcast sky and in short order had the nose pointed to Goose Bay, Canada (CYYR). We climbed at 150 KIAS while maintaining greater than 1,500 fpm during most of the climb. Cruise speeds averaged 264 KTAS, burning 280 pounds of fuel on each engine. Those are good numbers compared to other King Air models, in fact those are good numbers compared to just about any other airplane with a true 10-seat capacity. We had full fuel on every takeoff and were carrying a lot of additional gear on the trip. The B100 was not full of people, but we were heavy. The aircraft performed flawlessly with book numbers.
After stops in Virginia, Maine and Goose Bay, we flew on to Greenland. I expected my biggest challenge on the trip to be the stop in Nuuk, Greenland (BGGH). I normally use Sondestrom (BGSF) or Narsarsuaq (BGBW) on a North Atlantic trip, but Sondestrom is a bit out of
4 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
NOVEMBER 2023