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Cold Weather Checklist

Cold Weather Checklist

I’ve been corresponding with a King Air owner about an oil temp problem he has wrestled with for awhile. On one engine, the oil temp is not warming up to where it should be. Initially he worried about icing in the oil-to-fuel heater, but we have since ruled that out. This started my thinking about…

Legacy King Airs and the IPC

Legacy King Airs and the IPC

A director of maintenance from Alaska with several King Air B100s called me not long ago. The most recent addition to his fleet had a pressurization problem that would not resolve. The system tested fine on the ground, but there was no pressurization in the air. He had researched the part number of the flow…

Maintenance Records  and Logbook Research

Maintenance Records and Logbook Research

I spend a lot of time researching logbooks on behalf of buyers considering King Airs for purchase. They need to know where the aircraft is maintenance-wise. Some of these King Airs are “younger” but many have 10,000 hours or more. The longevity of the Beechcraft King Air makes me proud, but 10,000 hours makes for…

Revisiting Starter Generators

Revisiting Starter Generators

If you hit the starter switch in your King Air and nothing happens, or if you get a “gen out” light while in flight, starter generators will become top of mind. Generally speaking though, starter generators are not too problematic in most King Airs. The notable exception is the “Infamous -001” found in King Air…

The Wing AD – Who, What and Where

I’ve been getting a few calls lately about “the wing AD.” King Air owners want to know: Do I have to do it? And if so, where should I go? They are referring to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Airworthiness Directive (AD) 91-12-10, which applies only to certain King Air B200s and 300 models that…

Troubleshooting Autofeather

In recent months I’ve fielded quite a few calls on the autofeather system in King Airs. In one case I was engaged to assist a shop with unraveling an autofeather mystery. The system was inoperative on one side and they had taken every conceivable step to fix it, with no luck.  As the tech outlined…

King Air Cabin Windows –  Pane Management 2.0

King Air Cabin Windows – Pane Management 2.0

The polarized windows in a King Air were designed to block sunlight for passengers sitting on the sunny side of the cabin. They are the King Air’s answer to that little sliding shade found on airliners and elsewhere, and they do the trick nicely, but with one major drawback: They are prone to burning out…

F90 Heat Ducts: A Curious Coincidence?

Last summer I supervised a gear overhaul (inspection) on a King Air F90 belonging to a client. We were coming down the home stretch. The motor, gear box and torque tubes were ready for reinstallation. The cabin had been gutted for ease of access and we were about to reinstall all the floorboards that had…

Pressurization Problems?

Yesterday I got a call from a mechanic working on a pressurization problem with a King Air C90. The pilot’s squawk was that the altitude warning light came on while at cruise; the pilot descended. The mechanic did not know if the cabin dumped all at once, but the way he told it, it didn’t…

Nose Tire Going Flat?

Nose Tire Going Flat?

I got a call from a King Air B200 owner/operator. He had been a regular customer of mine when I had my maintenance shop, but we hadn’t spoke for several years. He always made time to chat with me whenever dropping off or picking up his King Air, and I was glad to hear from…