During one of the past King Air Gatherings, I was asked about engine ice vane usage on the ground. Specifically, a concern was expressed about a temperature restriction stated in the Pilot’s Operating Handbook (POH) for the model 200-series. Is a limit being violated at times when ice vanes are being used? A follow-up question…
When I taught King Air ground school at Beech Aircraft Corporation back in the 1970s a name we used often was “lever lock switch.” In preparation for this article, I went to my dictionary to see if this word actually existed and was not too surprised to find that it did not. Instead, what I…
Let’s see a show of hands: How many of you have experienced an honest-to-goodness engine fire in a King Air? As I expected, no hands are up. How about an honest-to-goodness engine failure, such as a main bearing going bad, or the RGB (Reduction Gearbox) uncoupling, or the high-pressure, engine-driven fuel pump failing, or an…
The King Air model 200 was the first of the King Airs to have both an automatic and manual mode of propeller de-ice. All previous King Air models offered only the automatic system. The purpose of this article is to describe the system differences and to provide some insight into their use. All King Air…
I recently had a conversation with a representative of one of the propeller manufacturers and it became apparent that he had a couple of misconceptions about the behavior of the King Air propeller both during in-flight shutdowns and airstarts. That prompted me to write this article in an attempt to provide clarification. As we have…
When conducting the run-up propeller feathering check, have you noticed what happens to ITT? Of course, most of our attention is directed to the propeller tachometers, as it should be, making sure they decrease rapidly and significantly. Some pilots conduct the check just as they were taught in the Seneca or Travel Air or Duchess…
I thought you might enjoy reading about some memories I have of a couple of events in my life … tied to King Airs, of course! I think it was 1974; I was in my third year as a ground and flight instructor at the Beechcraft Training Center in Wichita and the center’s manager, Don…
My aim in writing this article is not to present anything new but rather to simply review some of the fuel system information that you should have already received. I am sure the fuel system was covered extensively in your initial King Air training course and, if you have been flying King Airs for a…
You younger men and women flying King Airs are lucky: You never had to learn the Secondary Low Pitch Stop (SLPS) system. This hard-to-understand and accident-prone system is a very important necessity on King Airs powered by the PT6A-20 engine, only. That covers all the A90, B90 and early C90 models. But – and here’s…
Author’s Note: The following article comes from a chapter in “The King Air Book, Volume I.” It has been abbreviated and simplified here to appeal to more King Air operators. The King Air B100 model is unique, as most of our readers know, in that it is the only production model in the King Air…