Hawker Beechcraft Corp. (HBC) has announced the King Air 200GTR upgrade program for existing King Air 200GT turboprop owners and operators at EBACE yesterday. The upgrades will increase the performance and resale value of King Air 200GT, according to the company. The King Air 200GTR package incorporates BLR Aerospace composite winglets, a Raisbeck Engineering Ram Air Recovery System (RARS) and Hartwell 4-blade composite propellers.
Christi Tannahill, HBC vice president Global Customer Support (GCS), called the upgrade “consistent with our ongoing commitment to satisfy customer requests by working with them to maintain the highest levels of efficiency and productivity for their current aircraft.”
At maximum gross takeoff weight, the upgrade will reduce sea level take off over a 50-foot obstacle to 2,111 feet, a 400-foot reduction over the performance of a King Air B200GT. At a 5,000-foot elevation at 25 degrees C, the King Air 200GTR’s takeoff distance over a 50-foot obstacle is 3,094 feet, 700 feet shorter than the B200GT’s. The upgrade also offers a slight increase in climb performance, high-speed cruise and range for King Air B200GT. The improved takeoff performance allows access to more than 1,100 airports previously unavailable to King Air 200GT operators, Tanahill said. About 120 King Air 200GTs are currently flying, and the company “will continue to look at other models” of the King Air 200 according to Tannahill, with an eye on making the upgrade program available to them.
Certification and availability of the upgrade is expected by the end of June. The cost is $350,000 (U.S.) and installation requires four weeks. The upgrades can be performed at any of HBC’s 10 authorized service centers in the U.S. and its Chester, UK authorized service center. Tannahill invited attendees who want to learn more about the program to visit the GCS area of the HBC stand (7070).
This is the third aftermarket upgrade program for its aircraft that HBC has introduced in the last year as part of its strategy to leverage retrofittable technologies to capture upgrade business from existing customers. The company previously unveiled the Hawker 400XPR and Hawker 800XPR upgrade programs for operators and the Hawker 400XP and Hawker 800XP respectively.
