Entry Level King Air Position

[HMR]

\I guess this is why it is much easier to obtain insurance at lower flight times in a 310 versus that of a multi-engine turboprop...(naww, couldn't be).

Personally, I've never understood why it's easier to get insured in a twin Cessna. If anyone thinks a B model 414 or 421 is easier to fly than a King Air, please let me in on your secret. Fuel management and shock cooling/heating are the first items that come to mind. Also the "delicacy" of the Cessnas: I have 5X as many hours in King airs than I do in twin Cessnas yet I've had 5X as many systems failures (generators, pressurisation, magnetos...) in the piston twins. Also, how many times have you seen a Cessna 400, 800 or 1000 series autopilot work for a whole week straight? Even the 30 year old Sperry's in the King Airs can still fly an acceptable ILS.

 

[350DRIVER]

If anyone thinks a B model 414 or 421 is easier to fly than a King Air, please let me in on your secret.

Not sure I have a secret for you however well trained and experienced pilots usually don't have much trouble in the 414 and 421's that I have seen. Relatively a pretty easy plane to operate, easy and straight forward systems, easy to fly, etc. I personally thought the 421 was a walk in the park compared to the B100 but that is just a personal opinion. I guess the same case can be made to the "delicacy" of the B100 which blown current limiters, pressurization problems, systems failures, etc, can occur if one is not trained and properly prepared. Power management in the 421 was a cake walk compared to the 100 which was extremely "touchy" down low.

 

[TimsKeeper]

The Cessna series are easy to fly.

Have you tried the "P"Baron? That plane is a real pain in the @#$! If you've flown one you know how doggish ( below 1000 ft) it can be for a piston that trues at close to 240. That ain't your fathers' straight 58.

 

[Kingairrick]

OK. So after reading some of the excellent posts above, I'm going to flip flop on this one.
As we gain experience, the way we gain experience, is by having those "oh $hit" moments. Maybe the reason it is easier to get insurance on recips is because generally, those "oh $hit" moments happen at lower altitudes/airspeeds.
The King Airs that I have flown have all been much easier to fly than the old Chieftain I flew years ago. However, they are less tolerant of mismanagement or errors made by the pilot. Also, the trips were much longer and complex, requiring more planning.
I guess a properly supervised 1500 hr pilot, flying a C90B between Raleigh and Charlotte would be OK. But, I would not be comfortable throwing him into the Rockies in the winter.

 

[semperfido]

this is the kind of job i'll be looking for when i am done flyinn the big iron

 

[Lead Sled]

I guess a properly supervised 1500 hr pilot, flying a C90B between Raleigh and Charlotte would be OK. But, I would not be comfortable throwing him into the Rockies in the winter.

Many years ago I was attending a FlightSafety recurrent for the Cheyenne. One day while we were at lunch a group of us was discussing the usual pilot topics (Read: bitching and whinning). Eventually the topic turned to the really important things like pay. There was a young, inexperienced kid, obviously there for his first turbine training, who was bragging about how lucky he was to have this first turboprop job and how they didn't pay him very much. One of the "seasoned" pilots at the table said, "Son, I hope your boss doesn't run into any $50,000 weather with his $16,000 pilot." Today we'd probably have to add 50% to those amounts, but you get my point.

'Sled

 

[kilroy]

I can hardly imagine a insurance company gives a rats a$$ how hard it is to fly. I'd tend to believe they consider the amount of damage and lives you could take with this particular aircraft and the accident record of type.

 

[mike1mc]

Skip,
Just one guy's opinion but, I do hope qualifying for insurance is not the only threashold your applicants need cross. I've got a 16 year old with a drivers license and insurance and I'd dam sure not send him off with my 14 year old daughter in the back seat. If you get my meaning. Y'all be careful out there.
caseyd

I found this on another board, I'm not the contact, just reposting from another board.