Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (HBC) today introduced its newest product, the King Air 250, the development of which resulted from customer-driven changes in its Beechcraft King Air line. Utilizing new composite technology, the King Air 250 provides exceptional performance and superior versatility. The company recently surveyed more than 3,000 customers worldwide about several aspects of overall customer experience, including product development. The King Air 250 is a direct result of that effort.

"We are fortunate to have an extensive and loyal King Air customer base. Through our outreach efforts, we learned our King Air B200GT owners and operators are satisfied with items like range and speed on this aircraft, but that they would benefit from additional field performance," said Shawn Vick, executive vice president. "We've answered that call. With the King Air 250, Hawker Beechcraft has taken a proven business workhorse and set new performance standards through carefully applied composite technology, delivering serious versatility for operating in nearly any environment around the world. As the tenth major King Air product announcement since 2003, no other aircraft line exemplifies a more robust derivative product strategy."

The King Air 250's new features include BLR Aerospace composite winglets to improve efficiency in all phases of flight, composite propellers that provide new technology and lighter weight, and engine induction modifications to increase performance.

The resulting takeoff performance is better than its predecessor and any other B200 out there. At max gross takeoff weight the takeoff distance over a 50 foot obstacle is only 2,111 feet from sea level airports, which is 400 feet shorter than the B200GT. The new hot/high takeoff performance is even more exceptional. At max gross takeoff weight, from a 5,000 foot elevation airport at 25°C, the takeoff distance over a 50 foot obstacle is 3,094 feet, which is approximately 700 feet improved over its predecessor. HBC designed the King Air 250 to achieve its excellent field performance without making any significant tradeoffs. In fact, the King Air 250 offers slight increases in high speed cruise, climb performance and range over its predecessor.

"The shorter runway capability found in the King Air 250 provides our customers access to more than 1,100 airports that were previously unavailable to them, allowing them to spend less travel time door-to-door by flying closer to their final destinations," Vick said. "Better field performance also provides peace of mind that comes with knowing you have additional safety margin and operational flexibility when using longer fields."

Certification for the King Air 250 program is scheduled for later this year, with first deliveries planned for the second quarter of 2011.