So, how do you improve an airplane that is clearly the most successful in its class? Owners and pilots alike have nothing but praise and appreciation for what is truly the “King of the Air” in the turboprop market. Ask anyone who operates a King Air 350 and they’ll give high marks in just about every category. So, how can it be improved upon? Enter from stage left the King Air 360.
The King Air 360 emanated from the King Air 350, the flagship of the Beechcraft brand for more than two decades. Hence, they’ve had a long time to make the King Air 300 series perfect. Did they succeed? Well, there’s no such thing as perfect, but I can relate that the King Air 360 is an all-encompassing, truly fantastic airplane with a lot of improvements. As soon as the email from Textron Aviation hit my inbox with news that a flight opportunity awaited, I jumped at the chance and flew to Wichita within the week.
First Impressions
T &T Editor Rebecca and I arrived at the fabulous Flight Operations building on Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower Airport (KICT) and were greeted warmly by a host of Textron Aviation teammates. We were then escorted to an immaculate white hangar with a brand new gorgeous King Air 360. This particular 360 was all white, awaiting the paint scheme and colors of its future owner. Even in its plain white colors, the 360 looked impressive.
Luke Scott was the Textron Aviation demo pilot assigned to put the King Air 360 through its paces with me. Luke has extensive flight time in many airplanes, but his specialty is the King Air 360. The type rating required to fly any of the King Air 300-series airplanes is the BE-300 type rating, and I’m a DPE with authorization to administer that rating. So, I get to fly in a lot of King Air 300 series aircraft with a lot of King Air 300 series pilots, and I can tell you that Luke was particularly impressive as a pilot and instructor – one of the best I’ve seen. His knowledge of the airplane was Mariana Trench deep, and we instantly bonded from a professional standpoint.
One of the worries I have when a company makes “improvements” to an already fabulous product is that changes are made to the structure that are really not improvements at all. The iPhone 8 was not better than the iPhone 6S; classic Coke is way better than new Coke; and watermelon Oreos were just terrible. Improvements should really be improvements, not refinements that change the guts of a product. This is good news for the 360 as Beechcraft didn’t change the general structure or engine of the 350. In fact, if a 350 and 360 were parked next to each other, only a true aficionado could tell the difference. That aficionado probably would have to read the data tag to be completely confident.
This is also good news because the classic square/oval shape of the King Air fuselage is probably one of the truly perfect aspects of every King Air. The engines are also the rugged and powerful Pratt and Whitney PT6-60’s that pilots worldwide have grown to trust and appreciate.
The performance of the King Air 360 is identical to the 350 because the drag experienced and thrust provided are identical. But, that performance is spectacular. I can’t think of another airplane that can take off from a 3,500-foot landing strip with 10-plus people, a cargo area (including wing lockers) full of bags and toys, the fuel tanks all topped off, and go 1,500 nm while burning 300 pounds of fuel on each side while cruising at FL300 at 300 KTAS. That’s a lot of numbers for one sentence, but suffice it to say the King Air 350/360 will carry a ton, fly a long way fast, and be efficient with fuel. Performance and capability improvements were not the driving force behind the new 360.
Where Are the Differences?
Two areas of consideration received serious upgrades in the King Air 360: safety improvements and a refined interior.
To improve upon safety, Beechcraft started by adding autothrottles. I’ll advise that I was a bit skeptical at first that the autothrottles would work well, but once I saw them in action, I was blown away. On the takeoff roll, the pilot simply configures the system with the touch of a few buttons and then pushes the go-around button. With the throttle frictions OFF (yes, that a bit weird for a King Air pilot to do on takeoff!) and the go-around button pushed, the power levers advance smoothly to a power setting that is determined by the internal parameters within the system.
There are no computations required by the pilot. The pilot simply pushes the go-around button, releases the brakes, steers the airplane with the pedals, places appropriate aileron into any existing wind, and rotates at Vr. Gone are the days of shifting focus from inside to outside while trying to apply enough torque to take off while not over-torquing the engines. The power lever advancement is smooth and incredibly precise.
(Before I go any further, a pet peeve of mine is for turbine pilots to call the power levers “throttles.” Throttles are on piston airplanes and turbine airplanes have power levers. So, the King Air 360 really has “Auto Power Levers,” not “Autothrottles.” But, autothrottle seems to roll off the tongue more easily, and I think the term is here to stay, even in turbines. Now, I feel better…thanks for the nice diversion!)
While the autothrottles make the takeoff easier on the pilot, the real advantage is while in flight. If an engine were to fail, the autothrottle feature would apply the correct amount of power for that particular situation. And, if the airplane were to slow near Vmc, threatening a Vmc roll, the autothrottles would decrease the power on the good engine to ensure that the deadly Vmc roll over does not occur. To me, this is a huge safety improvement.
Additionally, once in flight, the autothrottles are integrated into the autopilot system, allowing for incredibly precise aviating. For example, the pilot can select an airspeed, and the autothrottles will adjust the power levers to the exact power setting needed for that regime of flight. I flew an ILS approach to minimums and the autothrottles managed the power levers to keep the speed exactly where I wanted it. It was a truly “hands-off approach” all the way to decision height.
The autothrottle system in the 360 was smooth, integrated, and a fabulous improvement over the King Air 350. This one feature improvement was enough to have me hooked, but there’s more.
I was particularly impressed with the multi-scan radar. Basically, the multi-scan radar takes all of the pilot adjustment of the radar out of the pilot’s hands. It is simply turned on and the system will adjust the tilt, gain, distance, and a whole host of other parameters to give the pilot visibility of convection ahead. I love this feature because I see lots of confusion in the owner-flown and single-pilot world concerning the use of the radar. Simply put, most pilots (my assessment) don’t know how to properly set up and use the radar to ensure an accurate real-time view of the weather. If you are to “go tactical” around thunderstorms (use onboard radar to navigate around storms), you need a good radar system and also know how to use it. The use of radar is more an art than a science, and the skill required to operate radar is best learned in a multi-crew cockpit over countless hours of watching a master tinker with the radar. But now, with the multi-scan radar on the King Air 360, the pilot has a resource that is far easier to use accurately. I still never advise that a pilot go tactical around thunderstorms, but the multi-scan radar on the 360 is the best radar I’ve ever seen on a general aviation airplane, and I’ve seen and used lots of onboard radars in my 30-plus years of flying.
Avionics & Interior
Ergonomically, the cockpit is King Air-esque, meaning that any pilot familiar with any other King Air will instantly become comfortable with the layout of the switches and position of various functions. This is excellent news because the King Air cockpit layout is ergonomically pleasing and super functional. I have to admit, though, that I’ve got lots more flight time in steam-gauge airplanes and Garmin-equipped airplanes, and I’ve got a love-hate relationship with the earlier Proline 21 avionics found in many of the earlier King Airs. But, the Proline Fusion is absolutely stellar, easy to use, and incredibly functional. Three giant screens literally fill the entire panel from the left sidewall to the right sidewall with flight instrumentation. Touchscreen panels include everything from gorgeous synthetic vision, flight charts, graphical flight planning, and all of it is integrated throughout the cockpit. Yes, I’m a huge fan of the Proline Fusion.
One of my favorite upgrades in the King Air 360 is an increase in pressure differential to 6.8 psi from the 6.5 psi differential found in the 350. While 0.3 psi does not sound like a big deal, it is a big deal. It means that a King Air 360 can be operated at FL350 and have a cabin altitude that is under 9,700 feet. In a King Air 350, FL350 was attainable, but the cabin altitude was over 10,300 feet, making FL350 an uncomfortable altitude for passengers and crew alike. It also means that the cabin altitude will be less when the King Air 360 is operated at lower altitudes. To me, FL300 is a great altitude to fly in the King Air 360 because the cabin altitude is low, the true airspeed is high, and the fuel burn is low. With the increase in cabin differential pressure, the flight levels starting with a “3” are now “home” for the King Air.
All of this is well and good for the pilot, and the safety improvements are great. But, the people who write the checks for operating a King Air are usually sitting in the aft right seat in the cabin. What does that person want in an airplane? They want it comfortable and nice.
Beechcraft has grown to be VERY good at creating a cabin that is exquisite. The new refinements of the King Air 360 cabin are everywhere. The seats will literally move in any direction desired – they’ll move away from the sidewall, rotate inward, and are probably the most comfortable seats I’ve ever enjoyed. The seats were designed using digital pressure mapping so that all body types of passengers have a comfortable seat.
Along with the comfortable seating are pleated shades (gone are the rotating polarizers that wear out so quickly), lots of well-crafted interior lighting details, and “King Air” inspired design motifs throughout the cabin. The interior is designed for luxury, mirroring the comfort, precision and tastes found in the most appointed and expensive luxury cars.
For a portion of our flight, I gave up my pilot seat so that Rebecca could move up to the front seat and see the cockpit at FL300. I went to the back and enjoyed the spacious experience. More interior refinements were noted that were impressive. For starters, the noise level was far less than other King Air aircraft. The 360 has “passive noise canceling,” which has sound deadeners placed throughout the airplane to deaden the noise. And, when the fore and aft doors are closed, the sound dropped significantly again.
Before I leave this point about noise reduction, I must admit that one of my favorite features in a King Air is “active noise canceling,” which is found in one of the four King Air aircraft we manage and fly from my home airport. I love the active noise canceling in that particular King Air and even inquired the Beechcraft staff about why they’d not include that system in every new King Air. But they reminded me that system has a reputation in the marketplace for being a maintenance hog. In my personal experience, the system in our airplane has been flawless in use, but others have complained. The impressive part of the King Air 360 is that the noise level in the passive noise-canceled 360 is certainly less than the earlier-model King Air 300 I regularly fly with active noise canceling. At first I was skeptical, but the passive noise canceling is really impressive.
Maintenance Savings
Another noteworthy change with the King Air 360 versus the other King Air models is the new and improved maintenance program. Earlier King Air airplanes have a Phase 1/2 in one year and a Phase 3/4 in the next year. So, all four phase inspections occur within two years. In the King Air 360, the same inspections occur within a four-year period. So, the amount of maintenance that is required is less. There are still hourly maintenance items, and I’m sure the maintenance requirements will be different for different owners who operate their airplanes more or fewer hours in a given year. But, overall maintenance should be less for an owner in a 360 compared to any other type King Air, and that is significant.
I think Beechcraft did a great job of upgrading to the 360. There’s no radical departure from what anyone would expect in a King Air, but there are obvious refinements and improvements. Autothrottles, a higher differential pressure, upgraded avionics, and a better experience for the back-seaters make the King Air 360 a worthy investment for the owner who wants the latest and greatest safety improvements and passenger comfort. I love the King Air line-up of airplanes, and the 360 is the best King Air ever to roll off the factory floor in Wichita. If you are looking for the best King Air, take a 360-degree view of the market, and you’ll end up with the King Air 360.
Let’s buy one.