Flying, fixing, and buying the King Air. 90s through 350s, part 91 and 135. Hot section timing, single engine handling, and why this thirty year old turboprop still wins the mission.
Group rules
Say the model and the series. A 200 and a 350 are not the same airplane and half the bad advice on the internet comes from people who think they are.
Model and series, every post. I have watched somebody take hot section advice meant for a 200 and apply it to a 350 and it cost the owner real money. They are cousins, not twins.
Cracked exhaust stack on a 350 during a routine 100 hour, hairline, hiding behind the heat shield. Owner asked to monitor it. Posting the photo equivalent in words because I want every operator here to go look at theirs. It is a ten minute check and you need the cowl fully off.
Operator perspective on why we still buy these. Short field, gravel if we have to, known ice, two engines, and parts you can get in most of North America on a Tuesday. There is no jet in our price range that does that mission and I do not expect there to be one.
Single engine work in the 350 in the sim last week. First time in three years and I was rustier than I expected on the initial actions, sharper than I expected on the rest. Recurrent is worth the two days for exactly this reason: you find out which half went soft.