How far will a King Air Glide?

The Gardener

Terrafirma Phobic
So I hear a rumor of a King Air flown by a Medevac company/flight school at Long Beach that had a flame out (due to fuel exhaustion.) It ended up gliding to its destruction in Baja Mexico. I don't know much more about it but certainly would like to know more.
 
The 207 sucks, it has about 1 mile per thousand feet.

You could have just left out the "it has about 1 mile per thousand feet" part. I would kill to fly one up there, though. Wish I would have taken the job with the aeroclub a few months back...
 
I dunno about a King Air but a Merlin doesn't glide for ####. Merlin's also don't have auto-igniters. The two facts are related.
 
Kind of unrelated, but I’ve heard stories of a baron pilot shutting down and feathering both engines to ride the mountain wave. That is some strong lift!
 
Actually tried it once in a -200. Started over San Nicholas Island at 14,000. Feathered both props and made it to Pt. Mugu with plenty of altitude to make it through the landing pattern without power.

The King Air is a very good glider.
 
Actually tried it once in a -200. Started over San Nicholas Island at 14,000. Feathered both props and made it to Pt. Mugu with plenty of altitude to make it through the landing pattern without power.

The King Air is a very good glider.


Thats an awful big gamble, if something went wrong how would you explain that one? Ive wondered at times when I am operating single engine how the plane would fly with both feathered, but no way in hell would I feather one I had left. It has cost me too much to get here to loose it over something like that. (but i have thought about it!;))
 
Well, since they're PT6s I would guess they were still running while feathered...
 
Thats an awful big gamble, if something went wrong how would you explain that one? Ive wondered at times when I am operating single engine how the plane would fly with both feathered, but no way in hell would I feather one I had left. It has cost me too much to get here to loose it over something like that. (but i have thought about it!;))

In a 200 (or any King Air w/ PT6's...or just about any airplane with a PT6 for that matter), you can feather the props with the engines still running. If things don't look good, just pop 'em out of feather and off you go (granted, it will take a little time for them to spool up, but you could do it).
 
Yeah, the run fine feathered. In fact, that was part of the Navy training syllabus. That's why we did it. That day, we just wanted to see how far we could make it glide.
 
You could have just left out the "it has about 1 mile per thousand feet" part. I would kill to fly one up there, though. Wish I would have taken the job with the aeroclub a few months back...

Why don't ya come on back up? Plenty of work to be found. Anyhow, it does kinda suck in that respect. Its a strange airplane aerodynamically. It does all sorts of weird things. Like sometimes, if you're really heavy, and you pull power off, the nose will pitch up. Other times, it will pitch down. If you hold have a normal nose attitude for climb it will fly at 80kts and 500fpm, and if you lower the nose and speed up a little, it will climb at 1000fpm. Its the only airplane I've flown where it can be "on step" so to speak. They say that's a myth, and I believe it, but something about the aerodynamics of the sled require you to fly it in a way that's different from the 206, or any other cessna I've flown. Also, with the nose baggage compartment, plus the motor, if you can see over the nose during the flare, and you're seat's not all the way up, you'll bang the nose wheel. Also, the tendency to balloon after the addition of flaps is so great that it will take three full rolls of trim to cover the flaps if you have anything in the tail.

-Pat
 
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