A: Takeoff :

1. Flaps fully up
   
2. Trim dead center
   
3. Apply full power

B: Roll out:

1. At 100 knots , ease back on the stick/yoke and rotate
   
2. Retract gear
   
3. Fly with the Artificial Horizon and keep nose between +7 to +10 degrees until speed increases to 140 to 160kts
   
4. Do not trim -- the aircraft will now maintain proper climb attitude and speed

C: Levelling off:

1. Pull back throttle to 20 on the "Torque Gauge"
   
2. Push nose down and keep wings level on the Artificial Horizon
   
3. As speed reaches cruising of 180 to 210 knots, apply down trim until the little trim indicator is close to the top. You have to experiment with it a little.

D. Descent:

1. Pull prop pitch back to 15
   
2. Push nose down, if necessary
   
3. After a minute or so, trim down a little, if necessary
   
4. Speed should be around 200 knots

5. Warning: Torque reading will drop when prop RPM is reduced
E. Approach:

1. Level nose with stick/yoke and wait until plane is settled
   
2. Trim until indicator is in the middle. You have to experiment a little
   
3. When the needle is in the white area of the airpeed indicator , apply one notch of flaps and push nose down
   
4. Do not trim until plane is stable
   
5. Trim accordingly in order to descend or remain level
   
6. Airspeed will be in the 140 to 160 knot range in level flight

F. Final Approach:

1. Lower gear
   
2. Lower flaps to the second notch
   
3. Control descent with pitch and throttle
   
4. Maintain throttle at a reading of 20 to 22 on the "Torque Gauge" until 50 feet from ground
   
5. Pull back throttle to idle
   
6. Speed on final must not be below 110!

The King Air must be flown with the stick/yoke and Artificial Horizon.
Throttle (torque needle) must always be maintained at settings greater than 20 except a few feet before touchdown.
Prop must always be maintained at settings greater than 15.
Trim works best only after the plane has been stabilized with the stick/yoke.
If one tries to fly the King Air with the trim , the plane will always be overcontrolled.

While I am a pilot, I am not certified in multi engine aircraft. I have used my experience in single engines and the many hours with PP , in particular the King Air, to make the above suggestions.
Tony Cervone

This item submitted by Scott Brazell

Unfortunately the prop reverse on the King Air was inoperative on the original version and it wasn't fixed with the first patch. It was corrected with the beta 1.02 patch. If you don't want to mess with the beta right now, here are some suggestions that might help you get it stopped. First make sure that your speed is not excessive. You should be able to get the King Air down below 120 knots without it falling out of the sky. Once you are about to land or right after you get on the ground, you should pull the condition levers back to the halfway position. Do this by pressing the forward slash key on the number pad once, that should move them to the halfway point, or use the mouse. Then get on the brakes and make sure the throttle is back to idle. If this still doesn't give you the braking you are looking for, press the forward slash twice to bring the condition levers all the way back and this will cut the engine.

(For easier reading, I have removed notations on keyboard keystrokes from this post, when they are not necessary for clarity. Refer to the keystrokes cheat sheet that came with your sim. Mickey W)
(Charles refers to the condition levers in different terms than the cheat sheet. I have changed them to match the cheat sheet. Mickey W) (You probably want to use synchronized engine controls for these procedures. This will allow both throttle levers and condition levers to move in unison. Mickey W)

Warning! These instructions work for my computer and may not be for everyone. Never having flown a real King Air I don't know if this would be proper procedure, all I do know is it works for me and I enjoy flying the King Air more, now that I know how to stop it. My home field is GLS (Galveston, Texas) with only two 6001 foot runways and I can stop the plane just past the cross runway when I land on 31. Setup approach speed of approximately 110K to 120 knots as indicated on the airspeed indicator with calm winds. This will have to be adjusted if winds are other than calm. On approach you should have the flaps fully extended, the landing gear down and the condition levers at high idle or full forward. Note: all the condition levers do is control the amount of fuel being allowed into the engine. There are three positions. They are fuel cut-off, low idle and high idle. They should be in the high idle position at all times except when taxiing or shutting down the engines. If you have to make a go around, you will need fuel for flight not for taxiing! After the wheels touch down, if its not already there, move the power levers/throttle to the full closed position. Retract the flaps to the full up position. This assists in keeping the airplane firmly on the ground. (There has been much heated discussion about retracting flaps, or cleaning up the wing as it's called, at touchdown. Try it with flaps extended and retracted and use whichever serves you best. Mickey W) Press the backslash key (\ on the keyboard) to move the propellers from positive pitch, which pulls the plane forward, to reverse pitch, which pushes the plane backward. Once you have positive reverse, as indicated in the lower left of your windshield/windscreen, hit the backspace key for full power and then press the B key for brakes. This all must be done very quickly. (Do you remember the one armed paperhanger?) When airspeed drops to 70 knots indicated airspeed, move the throttle to fully closed and then press ALT + \. This brings the propellers out of reverse pitch. Going into or coming out of reverse pitch requires the throttles to be fully closed. Put the condition levers in low idle and taxi to the ramp. I will add another note here: If the end of the runway is coming too fast leave the propellers in reverse until full stop. Be warned that after stopping if you release the brakes the airplane will backup. You can practice this by aborting the takeoff at 100 knots airspeed also. If all this doesn't work, cut off the fuel at the approach end of the runway by moving the condition levers into the fuel cut-off position, and lock the brakes before you land. Call the local FBO and let the mechanics change the tires and put out the fires. Good luck! Thanks for reading, C.L.S.

Thanks to Luc Landry for posting this item on the Avsim Magazine Pro Pilot forum

The condition levers on the King Air control three functions:
FUEL CUT-OFF (shut down the engine) (lowest position)

GROUND IDLE or sometimes called LOW IDLE (middle position) (used in ground operations) which is based mainly on taxi speed caracteristics.

FLIGHT IDLE or sometimes called HI-IDLE (top position)

The flight idle is mainly determined by the descent, flare and landing caracteristics of the airplane. It is also determined by the amount of engine air bleed the aircraft requires to maintain minimum pressurization when the power is pulled back.

Fundamentally, when you start, you move the condition lever from fuel cut-off to ground idle. Before take-off, you move it to flight idle. After landing and reverse, you move them back to ground-idle. Move all the way down to Cut-off to shut down the engines.

Thanks to MajTom Landry for posting this item on the Avsim Magazine Pro Pilot forum
(I have changed some of the text and formatting for better readability. Mickey W.)

The King Air uses the the Pratt and Whitney PT6 turbo prop engine. It is a 2 shaft, free turbine engine. The back half is the gas generator section and the front half is the power or propeller turbine. The Gas turbine (rear) starts first. The resulting exaust or energy, not used in the gas generator is routed through the propeller turbine. It drives the planetary gear and turns the prop. ( the planetery gear takes the high rpm,low torque of the propeller turbine and converts it to low rpm, high torque required for the propeller). I've freight-dogged about 4000 hrs behind the PT6's and they all start something like this:
To engage the starter:

1. Condition lever at Idle cut-off (low position)
2. Prop at full
3. Power lever (throttle) at idle

Now watch for the Ng (gas turbine speed in percent) to reach 12% and stable. Then move the Condition lever to ground idle (middle postion).

Now, carefully observe the ITT gauge. 800 degrees Celcius (roughly) is maximum for start. If this temp is exceeded, then a hot start may be occuring and the condition levers returned to cut off, while leaving the starter engaged to clear the engine of fuel. After 52% Ng, the starter switch is returned to the normal position and the starter will become your generator. (cool, huh?)

Prior to take off and until after landing, the condition lever will be in the flight idle position (65% =-) (upper position).

Flight Idle is important in this application, because it ensures that you have a given amount of air over the wing or tail of the aircraft. This is what your stall speed is based on! The aircraft will still achieve the same amount of thrust at full power in the ground idle position (middle position), but at idle power, will only be at about 52% and stall speed will increase.

I know that this is a short "readers digest version" but it is fairly truthfull, (after all, I fly and fish) and will fit most folks needs without being to stuffy or boring.

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All Material In This FAQ Copyright 1998
Mickey W. And The Numerous Named Contributors
All Rights Reserved

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