I have a problem. Its a problem that excites me and causes me to dream. The problem may lay dormant until I am quickly aroused. My problem will sometimes drive me to the Quickie Mart to spend a dollar. Hi, I am Al Waterloo and I have a King Air problem!
My problem is fueled by regularly flying my favorite airplane on a weekly basis and a mind that is always racing. Often I find myself dreaming of the opportunities of owning a personal King Air could open for me. Let me tell you, it would be awesome…but I have one major hurdle and one itsy bitsy hurdle to achieving this dream. The itsy bitsy hurdle is the couple million bucks I am shy of getting the King Air of my dreams. My major roadblock is trying to figure is a tough one. Its one that takes a lot of strategy, long sleepless nights and number crunching. I almost imagine the only way to tackle this problem is by adopting the Sherlock Holmes mentality. Locking myself in my dimly lit wood panel library, smoking a piper gazing into a roaring fire in the fireplace. I really can’t figure out how to solve it otherwise.
The toughest hurdle I foresee myself having is deciding which King Air model to get! Its an incredible problem with not an easy solution. The decision I’d have to make will affect how much fun I’d have with my King Air and where I could go!
The 90
Let’s be honest. A 90 would be sweet! There is something raw about the short and stubbiness of a 90 sitting on a ramp. It definitely would be incredible. In an effort to put a checkmark next to each deadly sin I would want to be modest and not indulge in something bigger. I think the 90 would be most fitting but it leaves me hanging when I start to think…what about my friends!?
The 200
Okay that’s better, I can fit all of my friends on the 200. In my mind it makes a lot of sense to go faster so the 200 would certainly be better than the 90. What is a little extra fuel burn when you’re going 300 kts!? The 200 is also the backbone of the King Air series. You see a lot of them out there so I know I’d be making a great choice. The only downside is that I am a rating hog!
The 350
My license would look great with a King Air 350 type rating on it wouldn’t it? The 350 would certainly appeal to my craving to get as many ratings as possible. It makes perfect sense in my mind. I could definitely bring all my friends with and have everybody be comfortable with a few open seats (that doesn’t say much about my social circle). I just hope I don’t run out of money with a 350, so a 90 maybe better.
See my problem? Its really tough to pick out your personal King Air. I am glad I have this problem though. What about being shy a couple million bucks though? No problem at all. The Powerball is up to $200,000,000.
Al Waterloo is the co-founder of SimpleFlight.net and host of SimpleFlight Live Radio Show. His aviation addiction became a problem when he got points taken off in Creative Writing class for writing too many poems about aviation. He currently flies a KingAir B200GT. Find him on KingAirNation: @Al_Waterloo Find him on Twitter: @AL_H2OLoo