BEECHCRAFT KING AIR 200 250

The Beechcraft King Air family is part of a line of American utility aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The King Air line comprises a number of twin-turboprop models that have been divided into two families. The Model 90 and 100 series developed in the 1960s are known as King Airs, while the later T-tail Model 200 and 300 series were originally marketed as Super King Airs, with the name “Super” being dropped by Beechcraft in 1996 (although it is still often used to differentiate the 200 and 300 series King Airs from their smaller stablemates).

The King Air was the first aircraft in its class and has been in continuous production since 1964. It has outsold all of its turboprop competitors combined. It now faces competition from jet aircraft such as the Embraer Phenom 100, Honda HA-420 HondaJet and Cessna Citation Mustang; as well as from newer turboprop aircraft including the Piaggio P180 Avanti, and single-engine Piper Malibu Meridian, Pilatus PC-12, and Socata TBM.

The Model 200 was originally conceived as the Model 101 in 1969, and was a development of the Model 100 King Air. The Model 200 had essentially the same fuselage as the Model 100, with changes to the rear fuselage to accommodate a new T-tail (in place of the 100’s conventional tail with all-moving trimmable horizontal stabilizer) and structural changes to allow higher maximum pressurization.

In 1976, Beechcraft developed the Model 200T, a version configured for aerial surveying or reconnaissance. The prototype was created by modifying a Model 200 aircraft, constructor’s number (c/no.) BB-186; the modifications included changes to the belly aft of the wing to allow photography with a vertical camera, provision for a surveillance radar in a pod under the fuselage, dome-shaped windows on the sides of the rear fuselage to allow observation directly below the aircraft by occupants, and a 50-US-gallon (190 L) usable capacity fuel tank on each wingtip to increase the aircraft’s range.[16] Customers could specify any combination of these modifications when ordering a 200T; all 200Ts were Model 200s modified at the factory and given new constructor’s numbers.

The next model to appear was the Model 200C in 1979; this version had a large cargo door on the LH side of the rear fuselage with an airstair door similar to the Model 200’s door built into it. The door opening was 4 ft 4 in (1.33 m) high and 4 ft 4 in (1.33 m) wide,allowing a large range of items to be loaded into the cabin. The Model 200C found favour with many operators who fitted them out internally as Air Ambulances. The 200C was built from scratch rather than as a modification of the Model 200.

This updated and improved version was the Model B200, which entered production in 1981.

A total of 14 B200s were produced in 1989 and 1990 in a 13-seat high density configuration with a belly cargo pod; these were marketed by Beechcraft as a commuter airliner under the designation Model 1300.[9] Customers for this version included Mesa Airlines. The propeller installation changed again in 1992, when Beechcraft started offering the option of having 4-bladed Hartzell or McCauley propellers, or 3-bladed Hartzell propellers; the 3-bladed McCauley propellers were no longer available. From October 1995 Beechcraft offered an updated B200 with Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) avionics, this was marketed as the “B200SE Super King Air” (for Special Edition). The following year the “Super” name was dropped from all marketing and advertising. In October 2003, Beechcraft announced another avionics upgrade for the B200, the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 suite.

The B200 remains in production, with a total of 13 built in 2009. The B200C is available for order; in January 2009 two B200Cs were delivered to the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (RFDS). The two B200Cs were the first examples delivered in about three years (the most recent B200Cs prior to this were two delivered in early 2006 for use as air ambulances in Scotland).[25][26] On May 21, 2007, during the 7th Annual European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition in Geneva, Hawker Beechcraft (as the company was now known) introduced the Model B200GT updated version of the B200.The B200GT is fitted with a new model of PT6 engine developed specifically for it by Pratt & Whitney Canada; while still rated at 850 shp (630 kW) the new PT6A-52 develops maximum power to an even higher altitude than the −42 it replaces, thus further improving aircraft performance. The B200GT and B200CGT with large cargo door were certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on November 16, 2007and by the end of 2009, 97 B200GTs had been delivered. Hawker Beechcraft has elected to use new constructor’s number prefixes for the B200GT and B200CGT; B200GTs are being built with the prefix “BY” and B200CGTs with the prefix “BZ”.

In 2014 Beechcraft announced the availability of an option (available at manufacture and for existing aircraft) to increase the MTOW of the B200GT from 12,500 pounds (5,700 kg) to 13,420 pounds (6,090 kg), marketed as the King Air 250EP (for Extra Payload). The upgrade puts the 250EP into the same weight class as the King Air 350, necessitating various system changes to meet certification requirements and a special rating for pilots.

Aircraft of similar capability and era were: Cessna 425, Cessna 441 Conquest II, Embraer EMB 121 Xingu, Evektor EV-55 Outback, Mitsubishi MU-2, Piaggio P.180 Avanti, Pilatus PC-12, Piper PA-31T Cheyenne.