Flight Covered 1,681 Nautical Miles At 276.03 MPH

The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) has recognized Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (HBC) for a new speed record set by its Beechcraft King Air 350ER. Jonathan Gaffney, President of the NAA, awarded the company with the official certificate at the 2012 NBAA annual convention in Orlando.

HBC’s Multi-Mission Beechcraft King Air 350ER demonstrator aircraft set the record for “Speed Over a Recognized Course” during a Sept. 11 flight at 276.03 miles per hour from Luxor, Egypt to Nairobi, Kenya. It is a new world record, sanctioned by both the NAA and the Federation Aeronautique International (FAI) in Switzerland.

“This speed record, along with the successful world tour of the demonstrator, verifies the high performance, flight characteristics and versatility of the King Air 350ER and our commitment to the worldwide special mission market,” said Dan Keady, senior vice president, Special Missions.

The record setting flight covered 1,681 nautical miles and consumed 3,770 lbs. of fuel, about 73 percent of the total usable fuel capacity of 5,192 lbs. While this record-setting flight was done with the external configuration of a surveillance aircraft (with radome and strakes installed), in a standard King Air 350ER with the slick interior (ready for mission equipment and mission modifications) that same flight would leave 3,510 lbs. of useful load for crew, mission equipment and fuel reserves. This range/payload demonstration is why the aircraft is so popular for special mission applications in the U.S. and around the world.

The demonstrator is on display at NBAA this week and in May of this year made its first appearance at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition after completing a tour that covered 40,000 miles to 14 countries on five continents – all on schedule and without any unscheduled maintenance required.

The Multi-Mission Beechcraft King Air 350ER demonstrator aircraft is a standard extended-range airplane, which is capable of more than 12 hours endurance or more than 2,500 nautical mile range. The demonstrator has been fitted with a search radar radome with electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) lift for surveillance missions, high density seating for military transport missions, and two medical sleds and a medical storage cabinet for air ambulance missions. All of these installations are certified by the Federal Aviation Administration and European Aviation Safety Agency, and available for immediate delivery on new aircraft from the factory.

FMI: www.hawkerbeechcraft.com