King Air® Jackpot! – KingAirNation Op-Ed

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