How do you make an already useful aircraft even more useful? Add a cargo door – and the first Beechcraft King Air 260 to be so equipped has been ordered by operator Air Archipels of Tahiti in French Polynesia.
Air Archipels has also ordered a standard Beechcraft King Air 260. Both aircraft are planned to be delivered by Textron Aviation in the second half of 2021.
Air Archipels currently operates a fleet of Beechcraft Super King Air B200s in French Polynesia, and carries out 3,000 hours of flight per year, most of which are for medical emergency evacuations. Their new King Air 260C will be configured for the air ambulance mission incorporating a LifePort medical interior.
Manate Vivish, CEO for Air Tahiti, the parent company of Air Archipels, explained the company’s specific requirements: “Air Archipels operations require a difficult to achieve compromise between high speed and accessibility on short runways. We are glad that the King Air 260 delivers these unique capabilities.
“By investing in a renewed fleet Air Archipels chooses to offer the highest standard of reactivity, safety, and comfort in their operations.”
The King Air 260C aircraft is a version of the King Air 260 twin-engine turboprop aircraft configured with an optional cargo door, resulting in enhanced mission flexibility.
Two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-52 engines with Hartzell four blade propellers power the King Air 260C aircraft, and a fully integrated Collins Aerospace Pro Line Fusion digital avionics suite provides pilots with state-of-the-art touchscreen controls.
