General Aviation Beechcraft 350i rolls out with enhanced navigation systems

Textron Aviation presented and announced the improved aircraft during the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) 2018.

From now on, all Beechcraft King Air 350i will have integrated Terrain Awareness and Warning System (iTAWS) with the Fusion’s high-resolution Synthetic Vision System (SVS) for easy operation. iTAWS provides the pilots with auditive and visual warnings on the flight and multifunction displays. The new system eliminates the standalone TAWS system.

Moreover, the King Air 350i will be equipped with a multi-scan radar to detect turbulence. With the system, short, mid and long-range weather can be detected automatically. This enables pilots to plan their route more efficiently and to decree over a better weather picture overall, regardless of the aircraft´s altitude.

Rob Scholl, senior vice president, Sales & Marketing, commented: “Integration of the latest technology and comfort throughout the cockpit and cabin have made the Pro Line Fusion-equipped King Air 350i a success since it achieved certification and entered service in late 2015 [...] We continue to invest in the world’s best-selling business turboprop family, bringing owners/operators features that are important to them. Better navigation, more accurate storm information and increased situational awareness lower the pilot workload and boost the comfort of everyone on board.”

All new Beechcraft King Air 350i/ER will feature in-line Pro Line Fusion flight decks. Furthermore, the manufacturer hopes to expand the new features on its King Air 250 series in the near future.

Pro Line Fusion includes:

- Integrated touch-screen checklists

- Intuitive graphical touch-screen flight planning

- High-resolution SVS with patented airport dome graphics

- Convenient presets to reconfigure all three displays with a single touch

- Dual multi-sensor flight management system

- Available automatic flight plan uploads

- Open and scalable architecture for future upgrades and mandates

Since 1964, Beechcraft has delivered more than 7.300 King Air turboprops to civil and military customers around the world. The aircraft family is the best-selling business turboprop in the word. Accumulated, the worldwide fleet has surpassed 60 million flight hours.