At the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE), Beechcraft announced that its new King Air turboprops will soon be equipped with Rockwell Collins’ Pro Line Fusion® avionics as standard. Furthermore, parts supply in Europe is to be centralized.
Certification for all three models is expected within the coming months. Furthermore, Beechcraft intends to offer the new avionics for the King Air in conjunction with additional cabin configurations.
Features of the New Avionics
According to the manufacturer, Pro Line Fusion® for the King Air features the first full touchscreen capabilities on all three main flight displays for commercial aviation. The 14-inch flight deck displays are interchangeable, high-resolution, and cursor-controlled. Additional Pro Line Fusion® features include:
- Integrated Touchscreen Checklists
- Intuitive Graphical Touchscreen Flight Planning
- High-Resolution SVS (Synthetic Vision System) with patented airport dome graphics
- Presets for customizing all three displays with just a single gesture.
- Multi-sensor flight management system
- Option for automatic and wireless database and map upload
- Open and scalable architecture for future extensions
In addition to the new avionics, Beechcraft also intends to further develop the passenger cabin across the King Air family. This includes Wi-Fi connectivity in the King Air 350i and 250 aircraft, with the option also available for the C90GTx. All models will also be equipped with electronically dimmable windows.
Centralization of Parts Supply in Europe
The first King Air 250 turboprop aircraft featuring the aforementioned enhancements are scheduled to begin deliveries in the third quarter of 2015, followed by the King Air 350i/ER in the fourth quarter of 2015 and the C90GTx in early 2016. Aircraft equipped with Pro Line 21™ avionics can receive an upgrade at Textron service centers. To date, over 7,300 Beechcraft King Air turboprop aircraft have been delivered.
Textron Aviation Inc., which includes Beechcraft Corporation, has also announced plans to centralize its parts supply operations in Europe. To this end, inventory for all aircraft models is being expanded at the distribution center in Düsseldorf. The parts within this inventory have already cleared customs within the European Union and are ready for immediate use.
TCAS II 7.1 Upgrades for Citation
Textron Aviation also plans to soon offer TCAS II 7.1 upgrades for early versions of Cessna Citation business jets. This initiative aims to ensure compliance with regulations for European airspace effective from the end of 2015. As of December 1, 2015, all TCAS-equipped aircraft weighing over 5,700 kg must have the 7.1 software upgrade for the TCAS (Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System) in order to operate within European airspace. Following certification, Textron intends to issue a Service Bulletin for the relevant older Citation models and begin performing the upgrades at its service centers.
