Hawker Beechcraft has delivered the 7000th King Air since production first began in 1964.
The King Air 350i was delivered to Herman and Kittle Properties, and will be officially handed over in a ceremony in Orlando, Florida this week.
"The King Air is still king!" proclaimed HB Executive VP - Customers, Shawn Vick. "We delivered the 5,000th King Air in 1996, the 6,000th in 2005 and now we’ve reached 7,000 – clearly, interest in the all-time best-selling business aircraft family is as strong as ever.
"Thanks to constant innovation, its durability and utility are unmatched by any other airplane in the world. Through relentless product enhancements, the King Air’s performance and value have continuously increased and set the standards in our industry.”
The fleet has amassed in excess of 45 million flight hours and is is currently operated in 127 countries. The twin turbo-props serve a variety of missions ranging from traditional transport of personnel and high-value cargo, to electronic and imagery surveillance, air ambulance, airway calibration, photographic mapping, training and weather modification.
Herman and Kittle Properties develops, builds, manages and owns multi-family rental housing and self-storage facilities in 10 states throughout the Midwest and Gulf regions of the United States. President and CEO Jeff Kittle was pleased to be adding the new aircraft to the company.
“Our company was already excited about moving up from the King Air 200 that we’ve loved to a new King Air 350i, so realizing we were getting the 7,000th King Air produced just made it that much more special,” he said.
“There’s no question in my mind of why the Beechcraft King Air is so successful. These are great airplanes that are comfortable, meet our mission requirements and are economical to operate.”
The presentation in Florida is scheduled to happen as part of the National Business Aircraft Association's annual convention.