Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

Innovative Solutions &amp; Support (IS&amp;S) has added Beechcraft King Airs equipped with Garmin G1000 and G1000 NXi avionics to its ThrustSense autothrottle supplemental type certificate (STC) program. The move adds a significant number of aircraft to the potential market for the ThrustSense autothrottle and adds the <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2019-07-05/thrustsense-autothrottles-now-available-king-air">safety benefits</a> of ThrustSense—including LifeGuard engine-out VMCa mitigation—to G1000-equipped King Airs.
The STC covers King Air 200 and 300-series turboprops with G1000 avionics. In addition to the modified throttle quadrant, the STC requires the installation of an IS&amp;S standby instrument, which is a form-fit replacement for the Mid-Continent Standby Attitude Module in the G1000-modified King Airs. The IS&amp;S standby also is the controller for the ThrustSense autothrottle and the pilot interface. 
<figure style="margin:0;">
<div style="margin-bottom:5px;"><img alt="IS&amp;S ThrustSense autothrottle controller" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c57df702-2271-4bf3-8897-8ef7d9169912" src="/sites/default/files/iss_isuat_stc_g1000_greenglowzoom_copy.jpg" width="1024" height="587" loading="lazy"></div>
<figcaption style="font-size:1.5rem;line-height:1.2;font-style:italic;">The pilot controls the ThrustSense autothrottle via IS&amp;S's controller and standby instrument. (Photo: IS&amp;S)</figcaption>
</figure>

IS&amp;S’s autothrottle was first certified in the Pilatus PC-12 and Collins Pro Line 21-equipped King Airs and it is standard equipment on new King Airs. The potential market for G1000-equipped King Airs is large, with more than 800 already upgraded, and&nbsp;continues to grow, in part because so many pilots do primary training on G1000-equipped aircraft&nbsp;and prefer to stick with those avionics as they climb the aviation ladder, said&nbsp;IS&amp;S director of autothrottle products Tom Grunbeck.
The IS&amp;S autothrottle STC is now available for almost all King Air models, Grunbeck explained, including older ones with legacy avionics—except for the C90. “We call it an agnostic-type system,” he said.
ThrustSense provides automatic power control from takeoff to landing or go-around and it also “prevents both engine and airspeed exceedances by automatically controlling engine output by computing and adjusting to the exact appropriate power levels, thus significantly reducing pilot workload,” according to IS&amp;S. The LifeGuard VMCa mitigation “proportionally reduces engine power to maintain directional control” in case of a failure of one engine. 
<figure style="margin:0;">
<div style="margin-bottom:5px;"><img alt="IS&amp;S ThrustSense autothrottle controller" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="aea6528b-23d2-4767-840d-3f9291cc6dee" src="/sites/default/files/iss_isu_g1000_300dpiopacity40_copy.jpg" width="768" height="1024" loading="lazy"></div>
<figcaption style="font-size:1.5rem;line-height:1.2;font-style:italic;">The IS&amp;S ThrustSense autothrottle controller doubles as a standby instrument and replaces the Mid-Continent Standby Attitude Module that comes with King Air G1000 avionics upgrades. (Photo: IS&amp;S)</figcaption>
</figure>

Installation of the ThrustSense autothrottle can be done by Textron Aviation service centers, IS&amp;S dealers, or by IS&amp;S’s mobile installation unit. The price for G1000-equipped King Airs is $80,990&nbsp;plus installation.

News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

FAA Approves Innovative Solutions & Support Autothrottle for G1000 King Airs

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