On January 20, 1964 a prototype business twin turboprop took off from Beech Field, Wichita, launching not just a new airplane, but an enduring dynasty that this year celebrates it 40th Anniversary.
That airplane was the Beech Model 90, crowned King Air in May 1964 when the FAA awarded Beech its Type Certificate. In the intervening four decades the King Air has reigned supreme among business turboprops, continuing to wear its crown while rivals—Cheyennes, Conquests, Mitsubishis, Turbo Commanders—have gone out of production.
The Model 90—still being built as the C90B—evolved into the stretched King Air 100, which in turn begat the ubiquitous, archetypal T-tailed Super King Air 200, also still coming off the Wichita line as the B200, and from that the 300 and top-of-the-range King of Kings, the Model 350. Model 99- and 1900-series regional airliners also had their roots in the King Air.
More than 6,000 Kings Airs of all models have flown away from Wichita since that maiden flight. They are in service in 105 countries, and have logged logged 40 million flight hours, traveling more than 10 billion miles over nearly every country on earth. More than 1,000 have been delivered to military and government users. All four U.S. services use King Airs, for crew training, liaison, medevac, VIP transport, cargo-hauling and sensitive SIGINT and ELINT missions.
To celebrate this remarkable reign, Beechcraft has dedicated the 6,000th King Air (and the 400th production King Air 350, appropriately N-numbered N40TH) to mark the 40th Anniversary. The aircraft has special interior outfitting with 40th Anniversary emblems and a unique exterior paint scheme that includes the name 'The Free Enterprise' beneath the cockpit windows—a feature previously carried by the personal King Airs used by the late Olive Ann Beech, widow of company founder Walter. It will be handed over to a customer here at the NBAA Convention here in Las Vegas.
"What has made the King Air so successful—other than the excellent original design—is its constant refinement," says Randy Groom, president, Beechcraft Division at Raytheon Aircraft Company. "From the first aircraft produced in 1964 we have listened to our customers and applied the latest technology to bring incredible value to the King Air family. These refinements—the latest being the addition of Collins Pro Line 21 avionics to the 350 and 200—have made the King Air the most popular twin-turboprop in the world. Our promise as a company is to continue to refine the King Air line so it will remain an indispensable aircraft in your lives."
