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Flying Blackhawk’s
XP67A Engine Upgrade
by Joe Casey
Iconsider myself a lucky pilot in that I get to fly just about every King Air type. I currently have a B100 and 300
under management and f ly both more than 100 hours per year. I also regularly fly the King Air 90, 200 and 300/350 se- ries either in training or ferry flights. Often, I am asked, “Which King Air is your favorite?” And every time, there is no doubt in my mind as to the answer – the King Air 300/350.
It’s powerful, hauls an impressive load, is a proven design, offers a high cabin max differential and boasts tremendous dispatch reliability. The 300/350 is the pinnacle of the King Air lineup and it’s hard to fathom anything improving upon the current design. But earlier this year, I received the nod to put Blackhawk’s latest X P 6 7A e n g i n e u p g r a d e t o a f l i g h t t e s t a n d I jumped at the opportunity.
Trip to Waco
The timing for this Blackhawk visit was perfect for many reasons, but the biggest one was that the owner of the King Air 300 that I manage is consider- ing an upgrade to either a “stock” 350 or a 350 with the Blackhawk conversion. So, the King Air 300 owner (Ron), myself and two local pilots (Ben and Deanna) loaded up in Ron’s 300 at my home air-
port (KJSO) and flew the relatively short 100 nm flight to Waco Regional Airport (KACT). Waco Regional is an active airport with a good mix of airline and general aviation traffic and is the home to Blackhawk Aerospace (previously Blackhawk Modifications) – a recognized producer of performance improvements for turboprop aircraft.
Let me preface this by saying that the King Air 300 we fly is no slouch when it comes to performance. On this cloudy, nearly-ISA (but rainy) day, our King Air 300, powered by the PT6-60A engines, climbed out at 2,400 fpm up to our cruise altitude of 12,000 MSL. While that climb rate is impressive, I would later see an even better one.
The clouds did not break the entire way to Waco, and we needed the ILS approach to RWY 19 to get in. Upon arrival, we met Chris Dunkin, chief pilot for Blackhawk Aerospace, and soon saw our test airplane for the day – N188RU. The airplane is a gorgeous 2014 King Air 350 that was recently up- graded with Blackhawk’s XP67A (Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67A) engines. Chris gave us a brief “differences” discus- sion and walk-around/pref light. Soon, I was stepping through the impressive interior to the cockpit.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BLACKHAWK
Upgraded 350
Very little is different in the cockpit with the XP67A conversion, so I felt right at home in short order. The main dis- similarity was the time required to start the big engines. The Ng spools up slower and the ITT rises at a more leisurely fashion in the XP67A compared to a “stock 300/350,” therefore the start time takes a bit longer.
As we taxied out to the runway, we obtained an IFR clearance since the weather remained solid IFR. Not only did ATC give us the clearance, but they also gave us an unobstructed climb to FL330. They knew we were flying a “capabilities demonstration flight” and Chris was able to negotiate the nearly unheard of climb clearance all the way up to the f light lev- els. It was exactly what I wanted to give the XP67A upgrade a thorough checkout.
The takeoff roll and initial climb rate were similar to the stock King Air 300, but soon the power of the XP67A began to show itself. We climbed at 160 KIAS, with the climb rate soon increasing to 3,100 fpm passing through 10,000 ft MSL. The mighty Blackhawk 350 was then able to hold a 2,700 fpm climb rate through FL180, followed by 2,400 fpm through FL250, then slowly decreased
June 2019 / TWIN & TURBINE • 9