Cutter Aviation has been in business since 1928 as an FBO. They’ve seen a lot and done a lot, but for awhile they were scratching their heads over what to do with the N48AZ, a 1971 KingAir C90.
She was abandoned by her owner at the Phoenix Sky Harbor several years prior after Cutter had done a good number of King Air upgrades on her including a new Stormscope. All attempts to track down the owner failed and Cutter was left with a bird with runout engines sitting on the ramp with a mechanic’s lien and a prop lock and nobody to get her out of hock. She was fortunate to have been orphaned in Arizona, however, where she got “dusty but not rusty”.
In 2007 Cutter decided to do something with her. They decided to make a refurbishment demonstrator out of her just to show off what they could do with an older plane. While she definitely needed new paint and interior refurbishment, tasks which they farmed out to local businesses, they took the next 30 days and went for the guts of the project with a Raisbeck C90 Epic package:
- Engine Upgrade- The Blackhawk 135A upgrade is the centerpiece of the upgrade package. The Pratt & Whitney 135A upgrade is essentially a “plug and play” upgrade providing better performance, capability, and utility, and gives a much quieter operation when paired with the upgraded Quiet Turbofan props (below). Though they are rated at 550hp, same as the originals, they allow a higher operating temperature which gives better performance, more power, more speed, and a greater rate of climb, especially at altitude.
- Props- The Quiet Turbofan prop is an unusual design, and in this case it’s a good thing. The squared-off tips greatly reduce high-frequency prop noise. There is also more twist to the blades and a longer airfoil, further reducing noise and improving performance. Because the airfoil runs all the way to the hub, airflow over the engine is improved, keeping temperatures down. With turboprops, many limitations are temperature-based, so this is a real plus.
- Strake Mods- The final piece of the Epic package is the Dual-Aft Body Strake mod which improves the basic handling of the aircraft, giving it greater directional stability. The strakes also allow an increase in maximum weight by improving the handling at a higher weight (850 pounds over the stock weight!).
- Wing Lockers- Not part of the Epic package, these modifications to the rear engine nacelle give the operator an extra 600 pounds of storage (300 per side). They’re big enough for several sets of travel golf clubs, fishing poles, hunting rifles, and other bulky things you don’t necessarily want in the cabin.
- Gauges- The obvious choice for the gauges was Cutter’s popular Garmin panel, the G1000. The problem was that the G1000 doesn’t fit into a straight C90, only a C90A and later models. So Cutter went with the G600, which is a good value for a panel to put into an older plane. This upgrade included a pair of G600 displays (each with PFM and MFD, independent ADHRS, and air data computers), a pair of GNS 430 navcom MFDs, a pair of GTX 330 Mode S transponders, and a GMA 347 audio panel. Also installed were a weather radar and a new autopilot (a full-featured S-Tec Model 65 with GPSS and altitude preselect).
While Cutter was retrofitting this left-for-dead airframe, a customer saw the work and decided he had to have it. Cutter won’t reveal how much the craft sold for, but a comparable plane at the time sold for $1.5 million dollars. Not bad for this little orphan-turned-beauty-queen!
Make no mistake, though. Upgrades will not make your old plane work better than the new ones. They can, however, make your old plane work better than it did when it was brand new.
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