Just back from King Air Recurrent

Well another King Air recurrent session has come and gone. This time around I went to recurrent training for the King Air at Flight Safety at the Atlanta Training Center. I have attended King Air training elsewhere, but this training was something else. It was outstanding. I had an excellent instructor and the King Air simulator was in fine form.

This time around the flight portion had the extra challenge of being single-pilot training. I had the usual emergencies, engine failures on takeoff, single engine go-around, and stuff like that. The Flight Safety instructors have the ability to put actual smoke in the cockpit, which is something mine did this time around. I faced a windshear event and various system malfunctions.

It can be challenging operating a King Air with two crew members, and as you might expect, flying with just one can be even more interesting. CRM with two crew members typically means communication between the two. The use of CRM with one crew member means using a lot of resources outside the cockpit. It's refreshing to think about different options. It's something that private pilots have to do on a regular basis.

So my training in the King Air is over for now, but I came away from that training with a renewed desire to keep up with my system knowledge and the procedures that I use on an a day to day basis.







The King Air Panel








The simulator line at Flight Safety International, Atlanta.