Textron Aviation receives order for five Beechcraft King Air turboprops
Beech King Air 260
Textron Aviation has been awarded a contract by AvMet International (AvMet), based in Fargo, North Dakota, for one Beechcraft King Air 360CHW (cargo door, heavy weight) and four Beechcraft King Air 260 aircraft. The Beechcraft King Air fleet will support the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Meteorology programme for cloud seeding.
“The King Air continues to be selected for a wide range of special mission roles around the world due to the aircraft’s capabilities and reliability,” said Bob Gibbs, vice president, Special Mission Sales for Textron Aviation. “We’re honoured AvMet has chosen a fleet of Beechcraft King Air aircraft to support the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Meteorology cloud seeding programme. The King Air continues to be selected for a wide range of special mission roles around the world due to the aircraft’s capabilities and reliability.”
AvMet and its partners Weather Modification International (WMI) and Fargo Jet Center will equip the four King Air 260 aircraft with a Cloud Water Inertial Probe (CWIP), Data Logger with aircraft tracking, and cloud seeding equipment. The King Air 360CHW will be rigged with Cloud Seeding equipment, a research laboratory and an instrument package for studying cloud physics and aerosols.
The aircraft will be modified at WMI’s headquarters in Fargo with sister company Fargo Jet Center. FJC’s Part 145 Repair Station, which is an authorised service facility for the family of Beechcraft King Air aircraft, teamed with WMI to certify the FAA-approved Supplemental Type Certificate modifications for cloud seeding and atmospheric research equipment. Textron Aviation, WMI and FJC will provide the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Meteorology with the newest technologies in cloud seeding and atmospheric sciences instrumentation.
Textron Aviation’s aviation solutions aim to provide the high performance and flight characteristics required to address the unique challenges of special missions. These include: air ambulance, intelligence gathering, surveillance and recognisance (ISR), utility transport, aerial survey, flight inspection, training plus other special operations.
The King Air range of turboprops has about 7,700 airframes delivered to customers around the world since 1964 and is the world’s best-selling business turboprop.
