Beechcraft King Air 350 350ER Certification

Beechcraft has received certification for its new, heavier King Air 350 in the commuter category. The new plane has a max gross weight of 16,500 pounds.

“This certification represents the achievement of a significant milestone in developing and certifying the Beechcraft King Air 350ER which Raytheon unveiled at the Paris Air Show earlier this summer,” said John Brauneis, vice president of contracts and special mission aircraft. “Our next step is to complete the development and certification of the nacelle fuel tanks which, when added to a heavy-weight Beechcraft King Air 350, will yield a Beechcraft King Air 350ER.”

Unlike other King Air aircraft, this plane will be geared towards “special missions” flying up to eight hours at a time performing low altitude surveillance.

“When fully certified, the Beechcraft King Air 350ER will surpass anything in its class in payload and endurance. It will provide the proven reliability of the King Air and unparalleled cost-effectiveness over a wide variety of military and civilian special missions,” added Brauneis.