Beechcraft King Air
- Beech Aircraft Corporation
- Hawker Beechcraft
The King Air from the Beechcraft family of Hawker Beechcraft is a twin-engined high-performance turboprop aircraft with a pressurized cabin. She is a business aircraft and is approved for up to 17 people, but usually has only 7 to 11 seats. Main area of application is the business aviation, the business charter flight and flight inspections.
History
The Beech Aircraft Corporation (now Hawker Beechcraft ) began on May 15, 1963, test flights of its new aircraft model, the King Air In May 1964, the C90 was the release by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. On September 9, 1964, the first production model King Air 90 was produced and the end of 1968 more than 400 aircraft of this type were already delivered. Former Sale price: $ 320,000.
In the fall of 1966, the U.S. Army ordered 48 King Airs worth 10 million U.S. dollars as a training aircraft.
The 90 - series
On May 23, 1969, the performance-enhanced model King Air 100 has been introduced. Over time, the King Air has been further improved and so the relation to their previous version further improved variants emerged: A90, B90, C90, A100 ( the only one for the entire series with Garrett engines instead of Pratt & Whitney ), E90, F90 -I, II F90, C90A, C90B, and later C90GT C90GTi (from there with Pro Line 21 avionics ). In contrast to other series of the King Air 90, the F90 version has a T-tail.
Since early 2010, the C90GTx has replaced the previous model C90GTi. The new GTx version the maximum take-off mass was increased by 175 kg, which allows a significant increase in payload. Furthermore, the C90GTx is supplied as standard with winglets, this increases the span of 15,32 m increased to 16.36 m.
On August 12, 1970, the 500th King Air was delivered to a Canadian dealer. In April 1972, followed by another major order from the U.S. Army over 12 million U.S. dollars.
The 200 - series and higher
Then the much larger and more powerful version of the King Air 200 was introduced on 27 October 1972 which was replaced in 1984 by the improved details in model B200 ( Engine PT6A -42). A performance-enhanced model, the King Air 300 made its first flight on September 3, 1983 and in 1988, replaced by the today 's largest and most powerful model of the King Air family, the King Air 350 ( PT6A -60A turbine). Until 1996 5.000 aircraft have been delivered from the King Air model, more than 1,000 of them to governments. Aircraft of this type in all variants can be found around the globe. Currently in production are the King Air C90GTx, 250, B200GT and 350i.
End of 2007, improved versions King Air B200GT received ( new and more powerful engine PT6A -52, price of 5.3 million U.S. dollars) and King Air 350ER (range to 4760 km increase ) its approval by the FAA. In early 2010 was followed by the approval of the King Air 350i by EASA and FAA. The King Air 350i is different from the basic version with an improved cabin equipment ( multimedia, soft drinks and flexible seating options).
Further development
The manufacturer introduced in autumn 2010 at the NBAA, the King Air 250 before ( also engine PT6A -52), the latest model from the King Air 200 series: it is particularly suitable for large altitudes and hot temperatures ( Hot & High) optimized. Among the technical innovations of the King Air 250 include winglets, composite propeller and a Ram Air Recovery System of Raisbeck (for the improvement of takeoff distance, climb performance and maximum speed). In parallel, the B200GT is still available.
On June 10, 2009, the military version of MC- 12W King Air 350 her first deployment in Iraq. The machine is a manned surveillance aircraft Sigint electronics, a Wescam MX -15 sensor tank under the fuselage and two operator consoles in the cabin. A total of 37 pieces for the U.S. armed forces to be purchased.
On 11 November 2010 the 2000th King Air C90 rolled ( a C90GTx ) from the production facility in Wichita.