Beechcraft Super King Air

Super King Air
A King Air B200 of No. 45 Squadron Royal Air Force
Role Civil utility aircraft
Manufacturer Beechcraft
First flight October 27, 1972
Introduction 1972 (military)
February 1974 (civil)
Status Active service
Primary users United States Air Force
United States Army
Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia
Royal Australian Air Force
Produced 1972–present
Number built 3,781 at end of 2015[1][needs update]
Developed from Beechcraft King Air
Variants Beechcraft C-12 Huron
Beechcraft 1900

The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The Model 200 and Model 300 series were originally marketed as the "Super King Air" family; the "Super" designation was dropped in 1996.[2] They form the King Air line together with the King Air Model 90 and 100 series.[3]

Beechcraft currently offers the 250 (design. B200GT[4]) and the larger 350i (B300[4]) models.[5] The 350ER (B300CER[4]) is available to government, military and commercial customers for special mission operations[6] such as aerial survey, air ambulance, flight inspection and surveillance.[7] The Beechcraft 1900 regional airliner was derived from the Model B200 King Air.[8]

The Super King Air family has been in continuous production since 1974,[9] the longest production run of any civilian turboprop aircraft in its class. It outlasted all of its previous competitors, and even its intended replacement, the Model 2000 Starship. The only other pressurized multiengine turboprop utility aircraft now in production is the Piaggio P.180 Avanti.[4]

  1. ^ serial numbers list. Beechcraft. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  2. ^ "Raytheon Beechcraft King Air 200." airliners.net., July 30, 2006.
  3. ^ Phillips 1992, p. 7-10.
  4. ^ a b c d "2016 Business Airplanes Purchase Planning Handbook" (PDF). Business & Commercial Aviation. Aviation Week. May 2016.
  5. ^ "Beechcraft turboprop Aircraft". Textron Aviation.
  6. ^ "King Air 350ER". Textron Aviation.
  7. ^ "Special Missions". Textron Aviation. Archived from the original on May 8, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  8. ^ Phillips 1992, p. 70.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference HBPL was invoked but never defined (see the help page).