Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) successfully demonstrated a mission-enhancement kit for the King Air 350ER in Huntsville, Alabama. Designed for government and military customers, the kit was developed in cooperation with Vector-Hawk Aerospace, the military sales division of Blackhawk Modifications, and Advent Aircraft Systems.

The kit was created for King Air 350ERs operating at 16,500 and 17,500 pounds and features Advent's electronic anti-skid braking system (eABS); True Blue Power lithium ion battery; and Blackhawk's XP67A engine upgrade with two new Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67A engines and new MT 5-blade composite propellers and spinners. According to Blackhawk, the XP67A package provides a 25 to 30 percent power increase; 400 shp more than the stock PT6A-60As; better climb, cruise and high/hot performance; and 18-pound weight reduction.

Testing is under way at Blackhawk in Waco, Texas, and is expected to be completed early next year. Sierra Nevada will have exclusive distribution rights to the special mission market in the U.S and most government/military foreign markets for aircraft weighing 16,500 pounds or more. SNC will complete the installations at their network and at authorized facilities.

Separately, Textron Aviation announced late last year that it would make the PT6A-67A engine available to King Air 350HW and 350ER customers both as a new and aftermarket aircraft option, along with an increased gross weight (IGW) option to 17,500 pounds. Textron said the engine upgrade provided substantial increased high and hot performance, allowing for an maximum takeoff gross weight increase of 2,700 pounds at 50 deg C (122 deg F) and that the IGW represented a potential loiter time increase of two to three hours.