Now part of Textron
Aviation, the company
currently offers the
King Air C90GTx
250, 350ER and the
350i. This is the GTx.
H
B By the time of the
King Air's f irst f light,
Beechcraft had
secured $12 million
worth of f irm orders
and deposits for the
type. G-BJSY arrived
in the UK in 1981 and
f lew until 1990 when
it was sold to a South
African owner.Now part of Textron
Aviation, the company
currently offers the
King Air C90GTx
250, 350ER and the
350i. This is the GTx.
H
B Popular Royal
The story of how the King Air has become one of the biggest
‘brand’ names in aviation started back in May 1963 with testing
of another Beechcraft product – the ueen Air. Fitted with
two Pratt & Whitney PT6As turboprops in place of the usual
Lycoming IGSO-540s, the proof of concept aircraft led to the
announcement of a new aircraft on August 14, 1963. The first
‘true’ King Air, N569OK, rolled off the company’s production
line in Wichita site just five months later. It incorporated a fully
pressurised fuselage and featured some standard equipment
not found on the ueen Air such as
de-icing boots.
The King Air took to the air for
the first time on January 14, 1964 to
kick off an accelerated test programme,
approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Just 17 weeks later on May 27, Beechcraft gained the Type
Certificate from the FAA after a rather impressive 230-hour
flight test campaign using five development aircraft.
Many Variants
By the time of the King Air 90’s first flight, Beechcraft had
$12 million worth of firm orders and deposits on the type.
Following the five test campaign aircraft, the first so called
‘regular’ King Air (c/n-LJ-6) for delivery to a customer
rolled out of the factory in September of 1964. Appearing
to have found a popular niche in the market between
props and jets, it took less than 14 months for
Beechcraft to deliver another 100 of the type, which was
impressing customers with its rugged qualities, ease of
operation, its twin turbine engines and immense efficiency
- a factor that would play a huge role in the coming years.
Between 1964 and 1974 alone there were five new Models
of the King Air introduced – the A90, Model 100, C90,
A100 and the E90 – and from 1975 to the present day a
further ten variants from three Models - B100, 200, F90, 200C,
200T, B200, C90-1, F90-1, C90A and the 350 – all of which
were an improvement in some way on the last.
The King Air line comprises a number of models that have
been divided into two families; the Model 90 and 100 series
became known as King Airs, while the Model 200 and 300 series
were originally marketed as Super King Airs (the ‘Super’ was
dropped by Beechcraft in 1996).
“BEECHCR AFT
found a popular
niche in the market
between turboprops
and jets”
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