Flying High…and FAST!
During the 2012 National Business Aviation Association’s (NBAA) annual convention held in Orlando, Florida, Hawker Beechcraft announced that L.J. Aviation, based in Latrobe, PA, signed an agreement to turn their 2006 King Air B200, into the “Ultimate Transformation.”
Ed Kilkeary, President of L.J. Aviation, uses this King Air B200 primarily as a charter aircraft and knew that performing these modifications including the Blackhawk XP52 (Pratt & Whitney PT6A-52) engine upgrade, BLR winglets, and the Raisbeck EPIC package, would not only improve performance but also increase the safety and versatility of his aircraft.
The transformation replaces the original Pratt & Whitney PT6A-41 engines, or PT6A-42’s in L.J. Aviation’s case, with factory-new PT6A-52 engines. (http://www.blackhawk.aero)
The BLR Winglet System benefits, besides curb appeal, include drag reduction, reduced time to climb, extended range and more. (http://www.blraerospace.com)
Raisbeck’s Epic Gold package was also a part of the transformation for L.J. Aviation’s King Air but Ed was no stranger to the Raisbeck products as he mentioned being the first to put the Raisbeck kit on a KA200 back in 1984. “I was really looking forward the increase climb and cruise performance and we are definitely seeing that now,” said Kilkeary, “with only 18 minutes to FL30”. Raisbeck’s Epic Gold package includes the Ram Air Recovery System, Enhanced Performance Leading Edges, Dual Aft Body Strakes and Fully-Enclosed High Flotation Gear Doors for aircraft equipped with high flotation gear. (http://www.raisbeck.com)
L.J. Aviation purchased their King Air new from Hawker Beechcraft and has been longtime customer so he had no question that during the transformation, which took place at the Hawker Beechcraft Services (HBS) facility in Wichita, KS, HBS would take care of it like it was their own. Remarkably, the transformation took HBS a mere 18 days. Ed mentioned, “The time it took Beechcraft to produce this transformation is a true testament to the experience they have.”
“I am very mesmerized by its ability to climb but also the speed. We are seeing 300 to 305 knots with these -52’s and we’re also burning less fuel by going higher,” Kilkeary said.
Ed has owned multiple King Airs but claims this is clearly the best King Air he has had and “would do this all over again in a heartbeat.”
For additional details on the Beechcraft King Air Transformation, visit: http://www.hawkerbeechcraft.com/king_air_transformation/#/home.
For additional details on L.J. Aviation, visit: http://www.ljaviation.com.