King Air 200 and 200 Pilots Rejoice!

Innovative Solutions & Support (IS&S)—an Exton, Pennsylvania-based systems integrator and purveyor of flight guidance and cockpit displays—announced on 04 January 2023 that its ThrustSense auto-throttle system has received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Supplemental Type Certification (STC) for installation on Beechcraft King Air 200 and 300 aircraft equipped with G1000 and NXi flight decks.

Subject certification allows ThrustSense to be installed on all certified glass cockpit systems for the King Air.

The ThrustSense auto-throttle is a full regime system encompassing all phases of flight from take-off roll to landing and even go-around. ThrustSense’s FADEC-like engine protection prevents both engine temp/torque and airspeed exceedances by automatically controlling engine output. The system accomplishes this admittedly nifty trick by computing and precisely adjusting fuel-flow to power levels commensurate with phase of flight and powerplant wellbeing—thereby significantly reducing pilot workload.

By dint of LifeGuard, an IS&S system that proportionally reduces engine power for purpose of facilitating aircraft directional control, ThrustSense provides protection against VMCa—the minimum airspeed at which an airborne multiengine airplane remains controllable while operating with one [critical, if applicable] engine inoperative under a pre-determined set of aircraft and environmental conditions.

ThrustSense is globally certified in forty countries and on more than 19 discrete aircraft configurations—including over two-hundred Beechcraft King Air turboprops.

IS&S Director of auto-throttle programs Tom Grunbeck states: “We’re seeing continued acceptance and growth of ThrustSense’s safety and performance by King Air operators throughout the world. With the aircraft’s broad range of mission capabilities, many aircraft operators are focused on further enhancing the King Air’s utility and value by reducing crew workload in their flight operations. ThrustSense is a great example of IS&S’s capabilities as a key player in providing technology to deliver next-level cockpit automation.”

ThrustSense is the first and only certified auto-throttle for Beechcraft King Air B200 and B300 aircraft, and is standard equipment on the King Air 260 and 360 production models. ThrustSense is available for retrofit at authorized IS&S King Air Service centers worldwide.

FMI: https://innovative-ss.com/products/autothrottle-for-turboprop/