Beechcraft Corporation, a subsidiary of Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company, today announced at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) that new production King Air turboprops will soon feature Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics system as standard equipment. Certifications on all three models are anticipated to occur in the upcoming months. As a further investment in the King Air line, the company is pairing the new avionics with upgraded cabin features.

“We’re improving the pilot and passenger experience in an already iconic line of business turboprops by incorporating the latest technology in the cockpit and the cabin,” said Christi Tannahill, senior vice president, Turboprop Aircraft and Interior Design. “Owners/operators will love the improved value proposition and safety features, passengers will enjoy additional standard cabin features, and the new Pro Line Fusion avionics will help pilots quickly and intuitively manage their King Air flights.”

• Integrated touchscreen checklists
• Intuitive graphical touchscreen flight planning
• High-resolution SVS with patented airport dome graphics
• Convenient presets to reconfigure all three displays with a single touch
• Full multi-sensor flight management system
• Available automatic wireless database and chart uploads
• Open and scalable architecture for future upgrades and mandates

Cabin upgrades

In addition to the avionics, the company is making enhancements to the King Air’s cabin technologies, which will offer an improved and connected passenger experience. The personal device-centric cabin will include international or domestic Wi-Fi as standard on the King Air 350i and 250 aircraft and optional on the C90GTx. Also standard on all three models will be electronically dimmable window shades, offering a simple interface that provides clearer views and darker shading at the touch of a button.

Upgraded King Air 250 turboprops are expected to begin delivering in the third quarter of 2015, followed by King Air 350i/ER in the fourth quarter and King Air C90GTx in early 2016.

In-service King Air aircraft with Pro Line 21 can be upgraded to the Pro Line Fusion touchscreen displays through Textron Aviation’s company-owned service centers. Differences, initial and recurrent pilot training for the Pro Line Fusion King Airs will be offered at TRU Simulation + Training’s new ProFlight training center near Tampa, Florida. Additionally, TRU will offer aircraft maintenance training for the new models in its newly renovated Wichita, Kansas facility.

Beechcraft press release