The venerable King Air just gets better and better...

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TheGreenGoblin
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The venerable King Air just gets better and better...

#1 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Thu Apr 15, 2021 6:59 am

Garmin’s GFC 600 Autopilot Approved in Select King Air C90 and E90 Aircraft
I guess the grizzled King Air veterans here who polled the King Air around back in the day, had nowt more than an ADF and/or a VOR and a star to steer them by.

The FAA last week approved Garmin’s GFC 600 autopilot for retrofit installation in a select group of Beechcraft King Air C90 and E90 aircraft. Garmin said in a news release the GFC 600 digital autopilot is optimized for this class of aircraft and features new operational capabilities such as vertical navigation (VNAV), automatic course deviation indicator (CDI) switching (when paired with a GTN Series navigator), and enhanced go-around capabilities. The GFC 600 integrates with G600 and G600 TXi flight displays, the GI 275 electronic flight instrument, as well as the GTN and GTN Xi series of navigators. “The addition of an optional autopilot annunciator panel displays the selected autopilot mode in the pilot’s primary field of view and retains an identical footprint of third-party autopilot annunciators on the market,” Garmin said.

A standard feature of the GFC 600 is Garmin’s electronic stability and protection (ESP) that works in the background to help pilots avoid inadvertent extreme flight attitudes or bank angles and provide airspeed protection while the pilot is hand-flying the aircraft. “Pilots can fly coupled ‘go-arounds’ during missed approach sequencing,” according to a blog posted on Garmin’s site. “A remotely-installed go-around button commands the flight director to display the appropriate pitch attitude required for the missed approach procedure and activates a loaded missed approach when paired with a GTN 650/750 or GTN 650Xi/750Xi navigator.”

The GFC600 STC is approved for the King Air C90, C90-1, C90A, C90B, C90SE, C90GT, C90GTi, and E90, but does not include aircraft equipped with Garmin G1000/G1000 NXi, or Collins Pro Line integrated flight decks.
https://www.flyingmag.com/story/avionic ... r9Jg-3q03B

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Re: The venerable King Air just gets better and better...

#2 Post by Boac » Thu Apr 15, 2021 7:14 am

I guess the grizzled King Air veterans here who polled the King Air around back in the day, had nowt more than an ADF and/or a VOR and a star to steer them by.
Finding an RNAV waypoint became increasingly difficult....... :((

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Re: The venerable King Air just gets better and better...

#3 Post by Alisoncc » Sat Apr 17, 2021 10:51 am

TheGreenGoblin wrote:
Thu Apr 15, 2021 6:59 am
I guess the grizzled King Air veterans here who polled the King Air around back in the day, had nowt more than an ADF and/or a VOR and a star to steer them by.
Nought wrong with an ADF and a VOR. Just getting going to SA Manganese at Hotazell.

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Re: The venerable King Air just gets better and better...

#4 Post by Boac » Sat Apr 17, 2021 11:57 am

Naturally, Alison, we are talking fixed card (RBI) ADF flying? None of that cissy RMI stuff. :))

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Re: The venerable King Air just gets better and better...

#5 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Sun Apr 18, 2021 7:18 am

Ah the the PA38 in which I learned to use the ADF had the Relative Bearing Indicator type! Mental arithmetic and smoke coming from my one brain cell when trying to correlate the heading to intercept to track directly to or from the the beacon, with the requisite drift allowance, rather than homing in the to case! I feel quite weak thinking about it!

(RB + MH) mod 360 = MB. Whisky compass rolling around like a drunken sailor. Rolled up chart thwack on head when answer or flying was inaccurate! Made one realise that the older generation weren't mental cripples or sissies! No SkyDemon, GPS or electronic calculators for them!

I am going to sound like my son now! What was it like in the old days Alisoncc and Boac? =))
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Re: The venerable King Air just gets better and better...

#6 Post by Boac » Sun Apr 18, 2021 7:52 am

When men were men and sheep were scared, do you mean?

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Re: The venerable King Air just gets better and better...

#7 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Sun Apr 18, 2021 8:01 am

Boac wrote:
Sun Apr 18, 2021 7:52 am
When men were men and sheep were scared, do you mean?
Surely your memories of the sheep are a little woolly by now?
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Re: The venerable King Air just gets better and better...

#8 Post by Boac » Sun Apr 18, 2021 8:02 am

Baa humbug to Ewe.

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