2-839-287 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Seven/ten place, low-wing, twin-turboprop business aircraft; white with red and gray trim. Pratt and Whitney Canada PT6A-6 engines. The Beechcraft King Air is the world's most popular turboprop aircraft. Beech Aircraft developed the King Air in 1964 as a compromise between piston-engine and jet aircraft; it could fly farther and higher than piston-engine aircraft yet land on the short runways of most small airports. The design remains the primary business aircraft for small to mid-size companies and part of the flight inventories of larger corporations. Rather than investing in new and expensive technology, Beech built an improved and marketable business aircraft from its existing production line. The aircraft displayed here, LJ-34, began as a Queen Air that was upgraded with Pratt and Whitney PT6A-6 turboprop engines, a design that soon became the C-90. Several companies operated it for a total of more than 7,000 hours of service.