Hawker Beechcraft Corp. reports it has received a follow-on order from the FAA for two Beechcraft King Air C90GTx turboprops with the option for one additional aircraft. The FAA, which operates a fleet of six King Air C90GTx turboprops, will use the two new aircraft to further support the FAA’s Flight Standards Flight Program.
The Flight Standards Flight Program provides direct support to more than 600 Aviation Safety Operations Inspectors (ASIs) throughout the country. It is their responsibility to ensure flights within National Air Space (NAS) operate at the highest level of safety and within regulatory requirements. As the industry evolves technologically, ASIs must keep pace with the changes and use modern aircraft to assess the currency and proficiency of pilots.
The King Air 90 entered into service more than 45 years ago. Key enhancements to the King Air C90GTx include an increase in maximum gross weight and the addition of composite winglets, which improve climb performance and further increase fuel efficiency, according to company officials. The maximum ramp weight and maximum takeoff weight of the C90GTx have been increased by 385 pounds to 10,545 and 10,485 pounds respectively. This increase in maximum weight provides the C90GTx with a full-fuel payload capability of more than 750 pounds – almost double that of the C90GTi. The ability to carry more fuel with higher payloads increases the four passenger range by more than 200 nm, company officials add.
For more information: HawkerBeechcraft.com, FAA.gov
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This press release is almost contemporaneous with the announcement that China has purchased Hawker Beechcraft. Coincidence? More amercian tax dollars headed to China for an airplane that USED to be made in America. Cirrus Design, then Cessnas being made in China. China recently announces their T-50 fighter that seems to rival or surpass anything on our flight lines. And China announces their fist operational aircraft carrier going online shortly with the US State Department having the hutzpah to ask why? Are you kidding me? It’s surrealistic how short sighted we have become. My kids and grandkids are going to learn Chinese. Not Spanish, not French, Chinese. At least they will have SOME shot at making a living and raising a family in the coming decades here in the US – soon to be (if not already). Second world country.