The King Air 200 is a continuation of the King Air line, with new features including the distinctive Ttail, more powerful engines, greater wing area and span, increased cabin pressurisation, greater fuel capacity and higher operating weights compared to the King Air 100. Beech began design work on the Super King Air 200 in October 1970, resulting in the type's first flight on October 27 1972. Certificated in mid December 1973, the King Air 200 went on to be the most successful aircraft in its class, eclipsing such rivals as the Cessna Conquest and Piper Cheyenne. Today the King Air 200 is the only one of the three in production. The improved B200 entered production in May 1980, this version features more efficient PT6A42 engines, increased zero fuel max weight and increased cabin pressurisation. Sub variants include the B200C with a 1.32m x 1.32m (4ft 4in x 4ft 4in) cargo door, the B200T with removable tip tanks, and the B200CT with tip tanks and cargo door. The Special Edition B200SE was certificated in October 1995 and features an EFIS avionics suite as standard. Various special mission King Air 200s and B200s have been built, including for navaid calibration, maritime patrol and resource exploration. In addition several hundred Super King Airs have been built for the US military under the designation C12. C12s perform a range of missions from electronic surveillance to VIP transport. The 1500th commercial King Air 200 was built in 1995. In 1996 Raytheon dropped the `Super' prefix for all 200, 300 and 350 model King Airs.
Performance
200 - Max speed 536km/h (289kt), max cruising speed 515km/h (278kt). Initial rate of climb 2450ft/min. Range with reserves at max cruising speed 3254km (1757nm), at economical cruising speed 3495km (1887nm). B200 - Max speed 536km/h (289kt), economical cruising speed 523km/h (282kt). Initial rate of climb 2450ft/min. Range with max fuel and reserves 3658km (1974nm) at 31,000ft and economical cruising speed. Weights
200 - Empty 3318kg (7315lb), max takeoff 5670kg (12,500lb). B200 - Empty 3675kg (8102lb), max takeoff 5670kg (12,500lb).
Dimensions
Wing span 16.61m (54ft 6in), length 13.34m (43ft 9in), height 4.57m (15ft 0in). Wing area 28.2m2 (303.0sq ft). Capacity
Flightcrew of one or two. Accommodation for a maximum of 13 passengers in main cabin, plus a further passenger beside the pilot on flightdeck. Typical corporate seating layout for six in main cabin.