Textron Aviation has made its integrated terrain awareness and warning system (iTAWS) standard equipment on the Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion-equipped Beechcraft King Air 350i/ER, and will add the feature to the 250 variant of the twin-engined turboprop family "in the near future".
The new iTAWS works side by side with the Fusion synthetic vision system, adding aural and visual warnings that appear on primary flight and multifunction cockpit displays. The integration effort is a less complex solution, says the company, and has eliminated the need for a separate line-replaceable unit and associated wiring.
Textron Aviation
The flagship 350i also boasts two new options. The first is a multiscan radar with turbulence detection that automatically identifies short, medium- and long-range weather. The other allows the crew to upload charts and flightplans wirelessly from an iPad via the ARINCDirect app.
Rob Scholl, senior vice-president of sales and marketing for the Wichita-headquartered company, says the introduction of these latest features forms part of Textron Aviation's investment in the twin-turboprop family, for which it is reporting a rebound in sales following four years of decline. For the first quarter of 2018, it recorded 17 King Air shipments, compared with 12 a year earlier.
Meanwhile, Textron Aviation has opened a line maintenance facility at London Biggin Hill airport in the UK, to provide servicing and support for its 1,200-strong fleet of King Air, Citation and Hawker business jets across Europe.
Source: Flight International
