Beech SuperKingAir B2OOGT

All-time best-selling business aircraft now has30Gplus KTAS cruise speeds and jet-class avionics.

By Fred George

rFrc day lsfere u,e flew the Beech SuperI King Air B200GT in early JanuaryI crude oil prices reached $100 per

barrel. That event soon could cause the oriceofjet fuel m soar to $5.00 or $6.00 per ga.llon,a price that could send shock waves throughpam ofthe bwiness jet community.

By contrast, that per-barrel benchmarkratded turboprop advocates comiderably less.Their slower, but substantially more fuel-eficient aircraft long have been dismissed byfanjet advocates as "so yesterday," but withjet fuel prices now sky high, many business

38 B*ins & Cnmercial Af iniot a Febfl.ury 2008

aircraft operators are taking a ftesh look.The timing is perfect for the introducnon

into service ofHawker Beechcraftt newSuper King Air B200GT, the latest and fastestversion of the firm's venerable Super King Air200. which made its Droduction debut morethan three decades aso.

Powered by a pair ofPratt & \4/hitneyCanada's new PT6A-52 engines, the B200GTcan cruise as fast as 309 KD\S at mid-weighs,enabling it to fly a 900-nm tdp in just ove!tl-rree hours. It also can fly four passengersmore dmn 1,150 nm at an average block speedof 270 KT{S.

The Super K ing A i r B200GT is n ineminutes quicker than its predecessor, the

B20Q on a gpical 600-nm business trip. Butthe B200GT still takes 30 minutes lonEer rofly that trip dun a comparably sized liglt jer,assuming both aircraft fly ideal vertical climb, .cruise and descent profiles. 5

The light jet's speed advaaage c.oTT .at the $price of a 20-percent greater block fuel bum, Eeven ifboti aircraft use perfect flight pro6les. BBut how often can ATC accommodate an $almos,t parabolic flight plan? In r.eality, $controllers seldom authorize a direct climb to iFL 390 or FL 410 on 600-nm missions in Econgested airspace. Such clearances are Iincreasingly rare on trips between busy city ipairs sudr as New York and Chicago, SanJose pand Seatde or Sr Louis and \.I6shingmn, D.C. s

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The result? If dre B200GT and dre light jetare restricted to cruising in the mid-twendes,the turbofarr will bum more dml 50 percentmore fuel than the Super King Air on a 600-nm trip. Thatt because there's simply less ofa fuelconzumption penalty if the B200GT isrestricted to flvins at FL 250 instead ofFL350, its optimum iruise altitude, on such amission. Fuel consumption increases 23oercent at maximum cruise power and aboutil percent when cruising atharimum rang"power. So the fuel savings achieved oniveryday business trips may-be considerablewhen flying the 8200GT instead of aturbofan aircraft.

The B200GT also has much improvedhigh-altitude climb and cruise performancebecause ofis -52 engines, so it routinely canuse FL 350 on nips longer than 500 nm, AfCrestrictions pemitting. In essence, the newengines traruform it into a B300 Super KingAir at altitudes ofabout 26,000 feet and above.Indeed, the B200GT can climb directly to FL.150 in 27 minutes at MTOW. That's nineminutes faster than a -42 powered 8200. andthe climb a.lso reouires ab-out 12 percent lessfuel. Cruise speeds are 30 to 43 knots fasterat FL 350 than they would be in a 8200.Climbine to FL 150 instead ofFL 250 on a600-nmhission, for instance, only costsanother nine minutes en route, but you'll saveabout $200 at today's fuel prices.

The latest Super King Air 200 carries overthe previous modelt Rockwell Collins ProLi; 2l avionics package, including is quitecapable FMS-3000 3-D navigation system.(Please see accompanying sidebar.) Thestandard package enables the aircraft to fly3-D FMS approaches, providing verticalguidance on virtually all non-precisionaooroaches. lt also includes an automatictMs to ll-s transrnon tearure. I hese twocapabilities provide hands-off autopilotguidance on virtually any instrumentapproach un t i l reach ing procedurenluumuns.

Continuous product improvements, suchas upgrading to -52 engines and Pro Line 21avionics. among many others, have helpedmake the Super King 200/8200 the singlebest-selling turbine aircraft h the history ofbusiness aviation. Today's B200GT is fardifferent from earlier models, It incorporatesdozens o f inc rementa l , bu t low- r isk ,improvements that add value and utilitywithout jeopardizing the aircraft's 99-plus-percent dispatch reliabiUtv. The inqrediensrhat make uo that formula are descriSed in theremainder of this report,

Structure and SystemsBeech Aircraft started desiEn work on theSuper King Air 200 in 1970 as an evolutioru'youtgrowth ofthe 90-series King Airs thatwould fly faster, farther, higher and carry

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more passengers. Similar to earlier Beechmonoplanes dating back to the 1947 \B5, allmodels ofthe Super King Air have a semi-monocoque airframe constructed primarilyfrom high-strength alurninum allols.

Also similar to earlier Beech models, theSuper Kirg Air 200 uses NACA 23000-senesairfoils for the wine because oftheir excellenrhigh lifi characteriitics and reiative immunityto aerody'namic degadation caused by icing.Engineers chose a consant cross-section, 18-percent thick 23018 airfoil for the wlngsections between the enEine nacelles andfuselage modified with idrooped leading

edge that stalls at a considerably higher angleof atuck than the outboard sections. This isan rmusual design feature because most wingsare desisned to stall at the root first so thatthe outSoard section remains flfng at thestall. This arrangement preserves aileroneffectiveness. But Beech elected to stall theoutboard section first, thereby keeping theinboard section flfng at the maximum liftcoefficienr This feature is intended to oreventdeep sall by maintaining downwash over thehorizontal tail at maximum 4ngle ofattack,t}rus preventing it ftom being blanked in thelee ofthe wing.

A rctr$rrment centet locatad bcttlnal tha cockoftbutkha l has a water tati<, heated bevoageconaalnt vtfth overboarat cormter dnln, two cupdb,€nsers, tfuee stonEo ahaweB anat a atouble

Each chdr h6 ad ah,te-ctde armreg'- fha oahera|,'rc't b bdlt lnto te s/.lewa , 'eeutth'd' ln tglnch€6 ol net aaat wLfth. Seat cttshlons arc mlnches long, ptovk ng goott ngh Bupport, Sedtbacks arc 28 lnches ta,l, Includlng hoe.tr36E.

Stutdy 2w-2z51nch wo*tabl63 ate enctoaecl ln sue pockets between the faclnE! chtlrs of the ctubseallnE sectlon. AC power otr ek erc prorLldt on both sLtes ot the ctub sectlon,

Burinett & Comnercial A|,iation a FeblMry 2008 39

I n f l i g h t R e p o r t

These graphs are designed to illustrate the performance of the Super King Air B2OoGT under a variety of range, payload, speed anddensity altitude conditions. Do not use these data for flight planning purposes because they are gross approximatjons of actual aircraftperformance we computed or extrapolated using four-passenger payload numbers from the B200GT Flight Planning and PerformanceGuide.Tlme and Fuelw. Dlstance - This graph showsthe relationship between distance flown, block time and fuelconsumption forthe B200GlHigfEpeed cruise is flown at maximum torque and 1,800 rpm, and long-range cruise is Jlown at best L/D. Both profiles use optimum allitudeprofiles.Specific Range (MktRange Weight,ISA) -This graph shows the relationship between cruise speed and fuel consumption forthe B2O0GTat representative cruise altitudes for an 11,ooopound aircraft, based upon data in the B200GT Flight Planning and Performance Guide.We believe Hawker Beechcraft's performance projections are accurate, ifnot slightly conservative, based upon our demonstration flighiobservations.Range,/Payload P.ofile - The purpose of this graph is to provide simulations ofvarious trips under a variety of payload and two airportdensity altitude conditions, with the goal offlying the longest distance at long-range cruise. We plotted each ofthe four payload/rangelinesfrom multiple data points based on interpolating or extrapolating four-passenger cruise performance pubiished in the B200GT FlightPlanning and Performance Guide. Each line ends at the maximum range for each payload condition. Only the four-passenger or 80Gpound payload line is representative of actual aircraft performance. FAR Part 23 all€ngine scfoot obstacle takeofffield length distancesare shown for sealevel standard day and for our standard 5,ooofoot elevation, ISA+20"C airport.

2,519

2,550

2,450

2,350

2,250

2,150

2,O75

2,000

5,000 ftISA+20cC

3,875

3,725

3,558

3,390

1,408

2,415

GrcssTakeoffvergnt (rb)

13,000

12,500

12,000

11,500

11,000

10,500

10,000

9,500

9,000

&

40 B si"ets dt Comncrcin! Arintioh a Febnwry 2008

Time and Fuel vs. Distance

Ilne (hi

Condltlons:NBAA IFR @serues {100 nm),

four passenge6, zero wind, lSA,

Speed (nAsl

ProfllcRange/Payload

Condltlons: Payload as depicted,NBAA IFR res€rues (100 nm),

high-speed c rise,zero wind,ISA

Range (nn)

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The outboard section aero contoun arealmost identical to tiose ofa Bonanza. Thereis 4.55 degrees o[geornetric tuist. a Beech-modiEed)301o.5 rirfoil near rhe nacelle andNACA 21012 airfoil at the tip. Overall, thewing has six degrees ofdihedral, 303 squarefeet o[area, a 4.8:l aspect ratio and no sweep.

The legacy wing's aerodlnamics are well-suited to the B200GT because there is plentyof rnarEir between the aircrafii higher cruise

, . , , . ispeeds and the wingi critical Mach number,the speed at which drag increases sharply onunmodifi ed 23000-series airfoils.

Beech opted for a T:tail empennage withswept rertical and horizontal surfaces. TheconFguration keeps the horizontalstab ourofthe prop wash to reduce vibration and itshigh. aft posirion improves aerodynamiceffectivenesr. Hawker Beechcrafi marketersalso admit the arrangement improves rampappeal as well.-

The airFame is sturdy, having no publishedlife limits. The resale value of King Airs,drough, is considerably lower for aircraft thathave flown more 10,000 hours.

All fuel is stored in the outboard main andinboard aux i l ia ry w ing tanks and eng inerLacelle anks, aft ofthe firewalls. Refueling isaccomplished through over-wing ports tneach w ing . Fue l to o i l hea t exchangerseliminate the need for anti-icing fueladditives. But many operators occasionallyuse such additives to purge small accumu-lations ofwater {iom the tanks.

The left and right main wing tank groupseach consist offour bladders and a wet wingtank that straddle the main wing spar. Themain wing tank group gravity feeds into thenacelle tanJ<, which acs as a feeder tank foreach engine. Total main tank capacity is 2,586pounds.

The left and right aur tanks hold an addi-rional 1.054 pounds of fuel. lf the auril iarytanks contain fuel, jet pumps in the tanksautomatically transfer the contents into thenacelle tanks, preempting gravity transferfiom the main tanla until the aux anks arecompletely empry Electric boost pumpssupply differential pressure for cross-feed, actas a backup for tie engtne-drive boost pumpsand ar:ure adequate firel pressure iIavgas isbeing used as an emergency fuel.

The 28-VDC elecnical system is suppliedby a 42-amplhour lead-acid banery mountedin the inboard right wing and a 250-ampstarter-genemtor on each engine. Groundpower may be connected by rneans of anex terna l power jack in the r igh t eng inenacelle. Most electrical equipment is fed byleft and right main DC buses, four sub-busesand a hot-battery bus. There is a 60-Hz, 115-VAC inverter in the inboard right wingsection that supplies power outlets in thecabin. No other avionics equipment or elec-trical cornponents require AC power

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All the primary flight contols are mrnuallyactuated, with three-axis manual trim andelectric pitch trim. The horizontal stabposition is fixed. Pitch trim is provided bytrim tabs on each elevator. The single-slot,trailing-edge, four-section Fowler flaps areelecuically powered and tie system incor-

porates asymmetry protectlon. A pneumat-ically powered rudder boost system usesdifferential bleed-air pressure from theengines to provide proponionate power boostto reduce rudder effort in the event ofanengine failure or large-scale difference inengine power output. An angle-of-attack

All luel Is stored ln the outboad maln ancl lnboaftt auxl ary wlngtank and enEln nacelld tanks, att ofthe frrcwalk. RetuelhE ls accomplkhed thrcuelt overwlng pot'6 ln each wlng"

Dl.llgolglvr) _External

Wing LoadingPower LoadingNoise (EPNdB)

Widk (Hoor)

Poror

,AlEqulpFd Pllcr: .......$5,268,800

Cfianctod!d6

Seating

lMax Landing

Zero Fuel 11,000c/4,990c

Max Payload

usefu l 10ad . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 ,830/1 ,737E\ecut ive Pay load . . . . . . . . . . .1 ,400, /635It4ax FuelPayload With [4ax FuelFuelWith i., lar Payload .......1,590/721Fuel With Exec. Payload . ... .2,430/ 1,102

Urrlti

Time to FL 250

c€llwb (a/m)

CenificatedAll-Engine Service .......35,000/10,668oEl Service

PSI

gln[

Engineoutput {shp ea.)

rB0 (hr)

rrbEtrrs {rblrg)Sea Level Cabin

Codlic{don

FAR Part 23,2007

Buinus dt &mmmial Aliatio,i a lelnkn| 2008 4t-

It4ax Ramp

I n f l i g h t R e p o r t

triggered stall warning system provides anrural alen prior to actual wing stall.

The landing gear are hydraulically actuatedby means ofan electrically powered pump. Ahand-opera ted pump is p rov ided fo remelgency erftension. Each landing gear hasdual wheels. Spring bungees actuate thenosewheel steering through the rudderpedds, with 14 degrees ofleft and 12 degreesof right steering audrority. Up to,l9 degreesof steering is available using differentialbraking and power The rnain wheel brakesare hydraulically actuated tlrough the rudderpedals. The bleed-air brake deicing systemnow is standard eouioment.

Bleed air from ihe left and right engines,routed direcdv to the cabin for heatinE andthrough heatexchangers in r-he inboard'wingleading edges for cooling, supplies the 6.5-psid pressurization system. That's sufficientto maintain an 8p00-foot cabin altitude at FL297. Maximum cabin altitude is 10,,100 feet atFL 350.

A conventional, analog pneurnatic pressurecontroller uses vacuum control air tomodulate the normal oudlow valve to achicvcthe desired pressurization differential. Aseparate safety oudlow valve, also actuated byvacuum. depressurizes the cabin on theground and also when the crew manuallyrctuates the dump valve. Both the normal andsafety outflow valves automatically open toprevent over-pressurizing the cabin.

There is a 77-cubic-foot capacity, supple-rnental orygen system with quick-donningnrask mounted in the ceiling ofthe cockpitrpassenger orygen masks automatically dropdown in the cabin at cabin altitudes abcrvc12,500 feet.

The Super King Air B200GT has dualzone cocl?i/cabin temperature conffol, butboth thermostas are in the cockoit. A vaor.rr-cycle air-conditioning q.ntem, powered by theright engine, provides supplemental cabrncooling. Notably, air-conditioning is not

available prior to starting the right engine.And cabin heatins is not available ur ess atleast one engine ii rururing. Bleed-air flowrates have been increased to boost cabinheating, Standard equipment also includes a20,500-BTU aux forced-air electric heatingsystem. tlat uses eirher aircraft or groundpower.

Pneumatic boos, supplied by engine bleedair, provide deice protection for the wing andhorizontal stabilizer leading edges. The pitotprobes and stall waming vane are electrically .heated for ice protection. The engine intakesuse hot exhaust gases to provide continuogsheat ing tha t p revents i ce accre t ion .Electrically actuated diverter doors in theengine air inles use centrifugal force to expelsuper-cooled water drooles and ice from thearl uluke uow patn. I ne glass wlndstuelds areelectricallv heated for ice orotection and areequipped with wipers for iain removal.

An engine fire detection q'stem is standard.but halon engine 6re extinguishing is a 23-pound, $6,700 option.

Passenger and BaggageAccommodatlons

The B200GT is equipped with a passive cabinsound suppression system that the firmdeveloped in tlre early 1990s (see Businus dtCommercial Aaiation, November 1992, page,18), providing considerably lower cabin soundlevels in cruise. Thirtv-trvo tuned. massvibration dampers sop up sound at 1,700 pnrprpm, thereby reduchg noise levels by 3 .4 to5,41 dBA in the center ofthe cabin and uo to16 dBA in the cockpit. Bagged fiberglass insu-lation and shn-stiffeninE sound blankes alsohelo ouiet the cabin. Altual interior norseIevils were not available, but cabin soundlevels were quite comforuble during cruiseaccording to a third-party observer on ourdemo fliEht.

Cabin fu rnishings, leathers, upholstcryfabrics and camet all were too notch. The

cabinets are covered with satin-finish woodveneers. The seats use high-grade leather andoffer excellent lumbar suppon.

The fuselage's souared oval cross-sectionmakes the m6st of the ar,railabte cabin widthbecause ofis relatively flat sidewalls. HawLerBeechcraft advenises overall B200GT cabinlength as 16.7 feeg but the main seating areain the cabin is 10.4 feet and it's shared bv uxchairs. We measured cabin heiEht at 4.7 feetand width at 4.4 feet, about one inch shy ofBeech's ouoted numbers for each dimensron.Each chair has afi aisle-side armrest. Theother armrest is built into the sidewall,resulting in l8 inches of net seat width. Theseat cushions are 20 inches long, providinggood thigh support. The seat backs are 28inches tall, including the headrests. Theforward two seats are aft facing and they havel5-inch pitch to the next row ofseats in thecenter club section, The four club chairs ofier54 inches of seat pitch shared by facingpassenge$.

AC power outlets are provided on bothsides of the club seatingiection to supplylaptops and cell phone chargers, among otheromce eauDment.

)turov lJ-bv-ll.)-rnch worktables areenclosed in side pockes between the facingchairs ofthe club section. Each seat in thecabin has two cup holders built into thesidewall armresg along with overhead readinglights, adjustable overhead air outlets anddrop-down oxygen masks.

A relieshment center is located on the leftside of the cabin, just behind the cockpitbulkhead. It has a water unk, heated beverageconrainer with overboard counrer drain, riocup dispensers, dree storage drawers and adouble ice chest drawer Standard eouiomentalso includes a slim-line, right-side-p1'rarnidstorage cabinet that cart be mounted behindthe right aft club seat or in the forward rightsection of the cabin. direcdv across from thereFeshment center. An aft, ieft-side slim-line

42 Brcincs lt Connmial Ariitioi a Febnury 2008 www.aviationweek.com/bca

pyramid storage cabinet is a 30-pound,$10.300 option.

The lavatory is 2.1 feet wide and itt locateddirecdy across from the left-side main entrydoor at the rear It features a belted seat, fullycertified for takeoff and landing, along withfully closing pocket doon that assure privacyfrom the main cabin.

Aft of the lavatory there is a 55.3-cubic-fooq 550-pound luggage compartment witia cargo net. Being inside the fuselage. thecompartrnent is firlly accessible during flightwith no restrictions. Ifyou want to trade extraseating capacity for baggage volume, two aft-cahin fold-down iumo seaB are avarlable as at-pound, $20,400 oition. Notably, HawkerBeechcraft officials claim the aircraft has awide cenrer ofgravity envelope. thus mostJoading configurations won't put the aircraftoutside ofits aft c.g. limit

Flying lmpressionsThe aircraft we flew for this report was BY-4. the fourth production B200GT It wasequipped wittrthe sundard package. exceptfor minor ootions such as leather-coveredcontrol yokes. The single-pilot BOW was8,761 pounds, just one pound more thanHawker Beechcraft's quoted weight for anaircraft equipped to our specs.

Tom Siiford. senior demonstration oilot forHawker Beechcraft, flew in the right seat forthe demonstration fl ieht. With threepassengers in the main ca6in, the computedzero fuel weight was 9,561 pounds. The mantanks were filled to 2,550 pounds, ren ting ina 12,lll-pound ramp weight.

We comouted takeoff performance basedon a 12,0d0-pound talieoffweight, SanDiego-Montgomery Field's 421-foot fi eldelevation, l4.C OAI, 30. 12 inlFlg barometersetting and flaps-up takeoff configuration.

Gkeoff speeds were 94 KT){S for VtlVrand ll9 KfAS for the Vz one-engine-inop-erative takeoffsafery speed, according to theAFM. However. the Pro Line 2l systemindicated a 112 KIAS V: speed for tlnt 6keofiwelEnt

Our all-engine takeoffground roll was1,850 feet, akeoffdistance was 3,100 feet andaccelerate-stop distance was about 3.300 feerThe takeoff field length, using FAR Part 25rules, would have been 5,775 feeg accordingto the AFM. Notably, ifwe had elected to use,10 degree flapa for takeoff, the Pan 25 TOFLwould have been 4,300 feet

Sifford commented that the B200GT,beins a Part 2l aircraft, doesnt have to beooerated in accordance with Pan 25 rules. Butii's helpful to know that tle aircraft wouldhave been ab le to depar t sa fe ly f romMontgomery Field's 4,600-foot-long Runway28R dth oni engrne inoperative an-d flaps setto the approach configuration.

In preparation for departure, Siffordswitched on the ground mode for dre radios,

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Rochrell Gollins Pro Line 21 AvionicsThe B200GT's standard avionics package is impressively complete. The system useshub-and-spoke architecture with an Integrated Avionics Processing System (IAPS) asthe hub unit. Easily replaceable LRUS inside the IAPS provide flight guidance, flightmanagement and data concentration capabilities, among other functions.

Three 1G by-eight-inch, portrait{onfiguration adaptive flight displays dominate theinstrument panel.other standard equipment includes a single FM$3000 3D navi-gation system that uses both VoR/DME and GPS position inputs, dual RvsM{apabledigital air data computers, dual AH93000 AHRS, dual Pro Line 21CNS radio systemsand dual audio panels, plus dual Mode S transponders, a single ADF receiver, Dl\4E,radio altimeter, solidstate TWR€50 Doppler turbulence detection radarand 12{hannelcPS receiver, along with an L-3 Communications TCAS I and a Honeywell EnhancedGPWS. The radios may be tuned either with the tuning page of the FMS CDU in thecenter console or by means of a radio tuning unit in the instrument panel.

The standard package also includes a solidstate L-3 Emergency Standby InstrumentSystem (ESIS), an RJ45jack for FMS database updates, a digital CVR, an ELT and alaptop computer.

Options include a second FMS (16 pounds, $87,200), s€cond DME (nine pounds,

$14,900), second ADF receiver (one pound, $15,300), HF transceiver with SELCAL(46 pounds, $76,900), Rockwell Coll ins TCAS ll (15 pounds, $148,700) and XMsatellite radio weather receiver (two pounds, $30,600), among other equipment. Anelectronic chart display capability is included, requiring an annual subscridion for acti-vation. Loading the chart database into the standard laptop computer provides theredundancy required for paperless chart approval, according to Tom Sifford, seniordemonstration Dilot for Hawker Beechcraft.

enablinE us to use a comm transceivet fotclearance delivery while conserving batterypower. After we copied the clearance, weswitched on the main battery and then the L-3 Emergency Standby Insmrment Systern.The ESIS needs four minutes to align, so wehad plenty of t ime to run through theprestan checks, Tirming on the banery alsosupplies power to the navigation display,which provides engine instrument indicationsfor start Hawker Beechcraft elected to retainthe B200's existing annunciator light systemwhen it upgraded the aircraft to Pro Line 21about four years ago, so the EFIS has noCAS fuactionality.

Most other switches and systems are

carried over fiom legacy Super King Air 200models. so few functions are automatic.There aie lots o? items to accomolish on thestart and taxi checklists, including mampu-lating the three engine control levers -power. prop and condition. Stan and ignitionswirches must be tumed on and off, generatorswitches must be mmed on at the appropriatetime and the condition levers must beadjwted.

With both engines operating we began totaxi to the active. There was olenw of thrustat idle power, so we used rhd 'g6und fine"position ofthe props to help modulate taxispeed. Sifford advised keeping the engine inletice diverter doors open on the ground to

B*incs b Conmercial Aztint;on a Febn'ary 2008 43

I n t l i g h t R e p o r t

minimize the chance of FOD. He said it's asnot much ofa problem as on King Air 300,/350aircraft, which have larger diameter props,but itt still good practice.

Stopped in the run-up area, we accom-plished the first-flight-of-day autopilot andelectric pitch trim checlc, prop over-speedgovemor, engine inlet diverter door checks,rudder boost and normal governor checlis,and then auto-feather checla, noting there aremany more required procedures than onewould need to accomplish in a turbofanaircraft.

After being cleared onto the runway, weelected to perfonn a rolling takeoff. As partofthe line-up check. we closed rhe engineinlet ice divener doors. During the rakeoffroll, we initially set about 2p00 foot poundsof torque because we expected inlet ramrecovery to increase the torque to the 2,230-foot-pound maximum limit.

Prop sound was quite prominenr duringtakeoffat 2,000 rpm, but the cockpit has dualBose active noise reduction headses that slashat least 10 dBA from the sound dnt reachesthe crew's ears. Sound levels in the cabinduring takeoffwere typical of what oneexpecs in a high-performance rurboprop.

Rotating at 9l KIAS, we immediately wereremhded why the Super King Air has such aloyal followirg among operaLors. hirialpitchforces were light but pitch response was noroverly sensitive. Cntrol harmony in all threea,xes was excellent.

Shordy after takeoff, we reduced torqueslighdy and pulled the props back ftom 2,000rpm to 1,700 rpm, resulting in generatingprop noise right in the heart ofthe 111 Hzresonant frequency of the runed vibrariondarnpers. Cabin sound levels droppeddramatically, according to one of thePassenge$.

Art ol the lavatory, therc ls a 55,3-cublc-foot,5g'(Wun.l luggaee conpattment wlth caryo net.

Our intention was to climb direcdv to FL270 for a cruise speed check. Using the flightlevel change mode ofthe Pro LinJ21 systcm,tie PFD's airspeed bug automatically adjussto the recommended dimb speed for altitude,Hower'er. we maintaired the 1,700-rpm cruisesetting irstead ofthe 1.qO0-rpm climb seftingfor pissenger comforr, rius rome*ha'rreducing climb performance.

SOCAL Approach and Los Anse lesLenter, attemptlng to asstst us wtth ourrcquest for an unrestricted climb to FL 270,issued several amendments to our routeclearance. These changes easilv were accom-plished using the FMS--3000. Sifford poinredout tlat proposed roure changes are depictedas dash id wh i te l ines on t -he nav isa t io ldisplay, thereby providing a graphic ind-icanontha t the amended c learance has beenprogrammed properly into the FMS.

During the climb, we also noted that itt

Pratt & Whitney Ganada PTGA-S2 Turboprcp EnginesP&WC created a special partsbin€ngi-neering variant ofthe PT6A-42 enginefor the Super K ing A i r B200cT bymating the -42's 85Gshp gearbox tothe 1,181-shp gas generator of the -60A. The result is a highly flat-rated8sGshp engine that retains full poweruD to 24.000 feet.

lmproved metallurgy, among otherdetail improvements. enablesthe-52'sgas generator to operate at 20'C hotterITT limits and about 2.4 percent higher speeds with no decrease in durabitity. The -52's TBO remains 3,600 hours, the same as for the 42.

The -52 engines are mated to 93inch diameter, four-blade Hartzell propellers, thesame props used ln the latest version of the 8200. As with all pT6A-powered civilaircraft, the -52 has separate controls for power, pitch and condition. The powerplantis an ideal candidate for a single power lever FADEC upgrade, but there is no timetablefor such a oroduct improvement.

44 B rines b Connminl tujiotiora Fel,M'n 2008

best to use the autopilot to reduce workload,ifyou re flfng rhe aircraft as a single pilor.H a n d l l y j n g , a d J u s r i n g p o w e r a n dproqramming the avionics can push tlle lrnrtsofmany pildts. The -52! hydromechanicalfuel controls, for instance, require frequentadiustmenrs to maintain rhe appropiiaretorque and temp Iimirs. Programming theFMS also requires a lot ofattenrion.

F{owever, the Pro Line 21 has an excellentautopilot and the glareshield-mounted flightguidance control panel enhances situationalavareness,

After several re-routes and intenhediatelevel-offs, we reached FL 270 sone 24minutes after takeoff. Using maxirnum torqueat 1,700 rpm, the aircraft accelerated to 305KTAS a t a we igh t o f I 1 .600 pounds inTS\+9"C conditions (28,000-plus feer densityaltitude) while burninq 770 pph. We had nodirect basis for compiring'rhese numberswith published flight planning data. But theB200GT Flighr Planning and PerformanceGuide ind icares thar an | 1 .000-poundB200GT should cruise at 107 K IAS at 1,800rpm at FL 280 while buming 686 pph.

W e a l s o i n r e n d e d r o c h e c k c r u r s eper fo rmance a t FL 350, bu t HawkerBeechcraft didnt have an RVSM Letter ofAuthorization for this specific aircraft, so wewere restricred to FL 280 and below.

Next, we elected to proceed direcdy to BigBear City Airport (elevation 6,7,18 feit) witithe goal ofevaluating high elevation one-engine-inoperative takeoff performance. Weflew the RNAV (GPS) Runway 26 approachusing de FMS-3000. It provided 3-D nau-gation during rhe procedLre, including 3.69-degree g l rdepath gu idance down ro rhe8,690-foot LNAV minimurn descent altitude.

After landing, we rolled 5,250 feet to theend ofthe runway using only ground-fineprop pitch and lighr braking for moderatedeceleration to enhance passenger comfon.Maximum effort braking, though, could havestopped the aircraft in about 3,100 feet,factoring in the airport's 7,700-foot densrryaltitude that day.

We taxied back for the simulated OEItakeoff. Big Bear City Airport's Runway 26 is5,850 feet long, the density altitude still was7,700 feet and the wind was out ofthe wesr ate igh t kno ts . Wi rh 1 .700 pounds o f fue l ,aircrafr takeoff*eight was l l,26l pounds.Plotring these numbers into the B200GTAFM indicated that the OEI Part 25 takeoff6eld lengrh was 5.800 feer. aszuming a flaps-approach takeoff confi guration.

Howevet we elected to increase our saferymargins during the demonstration bydeparting with a no-flap configlrarion toimprove second-segment OEI c l inbper-formance and deliying the simulatedengine failure until after takeoff. wirh gearretracred and above rie I lq KIAS V2 ekeoffsafety speed. Using the flaps-up configu-

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qU

a\t

Beech opte.l fot a T-tatl emrynnage wlth Bwept vertlcal and ho zontal surhces. fhe conf,guBtion keeps the honzontal stabilizer out ol the yop wash torcduce vlbntlon and lts hlEh, aft posltlon lnqoves aercdynamlc etfectlveness.

rrtion, the all-engine takeoffdistance over a50-foot obstacle was 4,350 feet.

Safely abovc dre runway with both engrnesopcrating and landing gear retracted, Siffordbriskly reduced porver on the left engine tor p p r o r i r n a t e z e r o t h r u s t . T o r n a i r r t r i r rbalanced flight, we needed only moderatelyforceful right rudder pressure because of theaircrrfti el{ecdvc ruJJer boost 1,'tem. Uringthe standard five degees rving-down attitudernd flving with one-half ball displacementinto the operating engine, we achieved a 350-to 400 foot siruulatecl OEI clinb rate.

During the sirnulated OEI climb over BigBear Lake, we noted that most ofthe controlforces may be trirnmed out to ease handlingchores. The Super King Air B200GT nasdocile handling chrracteristics at 120 KIASwidr aslrunenic power and its considerablymore robust -52 engines provide substantiallyb e t t e r h o t - a n d - h i g h O E I a i r p o r tperfonnancc thrn dre -42 porverplans ofitsprocessor, the 8200.

Alier the OEI tlkeoff demonstrirtion, wer.rsed both engines to clirnb \TR to 15,500feet erstbound to an rrea above the highdesert wcst of'Iiventy Nine Prlms where rveperfomrcd brsic rirrvotk maneuvers, such asstcep turns mclstalls. The Pro t-ine 2l PFDshrve relatively large attitudc indicators thatn'rake it elsy to detect srnrll rnitude changesduringstccp tunx. Butthis configuration stillrctrins the truncrted attinrde indicltor usedby legrw EFIS displap. We rnuch prefcr full-wiclth, edge-to-edge attitudc indicators, suchas those provided by G.rrmin'.s G1000 rnd

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Gulfstrean's PlaneView systems, becausethey make i t even easier to detect srnal lattitude changes.

We dren picked up al smrment clearance{iorn L.A. Center, with a handoff to SOCALapp roach . t o l l y t o San D iego -C i l l esp ieAirport.

- fhe purpose for changing desti-

nation airports was to show the aircraft to afew potential sales leads, including liiends ofa fonner Super King Air 300 opentor

Total flight time for the mission was 1.8hours and overali fuel bum was 1,300 pounds.

Prlce and ValueThe B200GT truly is in a class by i tself ,having no direct cornpeti tors. No otherproducrion turboprop har rhc Super KingAir's combination ofcabin volurne, ability tooperate from unirnproved rirpons, shon-fieldperfonnance, OEI takeoff performance andabilitv to tanker fuel. That's why we electednot to includc a Cornparison Profile chart aspart of this repon.

The B200GT retains all the rough-and-nrntrle, airborne-SUV utiliw of the SuperKing Air 200 family, incJuding the availabilityof a model with a 4.1 by-4.3-foot aft cargodoor However, the htest version has muihimproved hot-and-high airport perfonnanceresulting in higher OEI safeq' margins, alongwith a large-scale increase in high-altitudeclimb perfonnance that makcs it practical tooperate routinely in dre micl-thirties.

The latestversiol also incorporates SuperKing Air 350 cabin features, such as passengerchairs, bulkheads and cabinetry.'llre fonnerly

optional aux electric herting systen) now lsstandard 6t, improving cabin comfort in cold, l im : r t es . I he ua l - , i r r : r l s " ha ' r c , ' r r r l u ' s i t .headliner and cold-cathode fluorescent wrshlighting. Howeveq an upgrade to LED rvashlighting would fu rther increase reliability.

Pi lots rvi l l f ind the cockpit roonry, t l rcS u p e r K i n g A i r 3 5 0 - t y p c c r c w s c a t scomfortable rud the Pro Line 2l aviorrrcspackage as capab le as o f f e red by anyturboprop.

'l'he B200Gl's legacy systerrrs,

procedures and "su'itchology," though, arc afall-back to an earlier era when pilots wercexpectecl to be pat-time flight engineers.' l 'he

Super King Air 8200G'l ' , sirr i lar toothcr pmduction busincss irircraft turboprops,is due for a digital vrtems upgrrde th;rt rvouklreduce pilot*,orkload to colternpomry lightjet standards, in our opinion.

'I'he Super KingAir 200's unrnatched blenrl

ofqualities is rv\ithas had an unintcrruptcd34-year production run rvhile virtually rllotier makes ofbruiness-class nrrboprops havedied off, except for Hawker Beechcraft's otherrnodels and thc Piaggio Avanti.

'l'he Supcr

King Air 200 production run isn't likcly toend anv t ime soon , l s l ong as I l awke rBeechcrrft contimres to nuke regular pnrcluct1lllptoverl]en$.

As the price offuel continues to clirnb, theSuper King \ ir 20{l u i l l rerrrrr in rrn rrclrrct ivcaltcrnrtive to nrrbofan rircraft unlcss thcrcare large-scale inprovenents in light jet ftreleliciency. That's not going to happen in thenea r t e rm , so marke t dem lnd f o r t heB200GT is likely to renrain strong. I

Rxt;,.\\ tt C|,utur.tul .,1Lthr,t a ll.lnnt4' 2o0tt 45