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certificate. He managed a complete refurbishment of that aircraft and flew it for about eight years. Most of his trips were in the western U.S., ranging from meeting with writers and other industry folks to setting up filming locations in Montana and Utah for “Yellowstone.” His son, Sky, was born during this time, and the advantage of flying himself became even more valuable.
“I had a new son so being able to fly myself back and forth from set location started to matter a lot to me,” he said. “The utility and the ease of being able to fly into these little airports was amazing, and everyone at the FBOs was so polite. It brought flying back into a good space for me after flying commercial for so many years was unpleasant.”
Moving Up to LA-20
Eventually, Linson wanted more room for passengers, pressurization, two engines and the ability to fly
higher among the mountainous terrain he often encounters. He purchased the 1980 King Air F90 in 2022 from Mike Fell, a friend and former Delta Air Lines captain who was operating the airplane in Alaska while also running a helicopter business. It was a low- time airplane (6,100 hours), came with a good lineage and satisfied Linson’s penchant for uniqueness.
“An interesting thing about this airplane is that it’s serial number LA- 20, and when you look at the King Air manuals you’ll see ‘except LA- 20’ in several places,” Linson said. “I believe this was a test airplane of some kind for the F90-1 [introduced in 1983] so it’s a special airplane.”
He added: “I think the F90 is the most beautiful King Air they make. I love the look of the shorter wing and that T-tail.”
Linson wanted to make LA-20 his own, modernizing the aircraft’s technology and its look inside and
“An interesting thing about this airplane is that it’s serial number LA-20, and when you look at the King Air manuals you’ll see ‘except LA-20’ in several places. I believe this was a test airplane of some kind for the F90-1 so it’s a special airplane.”
LA-20 features a Beech shield on the T-tail and gold leaf lettering on the N number. “That’s an ode to my old motor- cycle days,” said John Linson, who has a sizable collection of vintage bikes and is credited as co-creator of the outlaw biker world TV series “Sons of Anarchy.”
NOVEMBER 2024
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 7