Blackhawk News

July 31, 2013

Blackhawk Modifications Delivers XP135 King Air C90B Upgrade To B&G Aircraft For Corporate Transport

Blackhawk Modifications Delivers XP135 King Air C90B Upgrade To B&G Aircraft For Corporate Transport

OSHKOSH,  Wisc. – July  31,  2013 – Blackhawk  Modifications,  Inc.,  a global  leader  in  the  design,  development  and  installation  of  performance  improvement  systems  for  single and  twin engine  turboprop  aircraft, has  delivered  an  XP135  upgrade  of  a  corporate  transport  Hawker  Beechcraft  King  Air  C90B  for  B&G  Aircraft,  LLC. Flanders,  N.J. based  B&G  Aircraft  flies  the  improved performance  King  Air  in  support  of  the  corporate  operations  of  ADD  Systems,  a  leading  provider  of  software  for  the  petroleum,  propane,  gasoline  and  convenience store  industries.

Blackhawk’s  XP135  upgrade  replaced  the  550 shaft horsepower  (shp)  Pratt  &  Whitney  Canada  (P&WC)  PT6A 21  turboprop  engines  on  B&G  Aircraft’s  King  Air  C90B  with  two  factory new,  750-shp  PT6­‐135A  engines,  which  carry  new engine  warranties  from  P&WC.  No  airframe  modifications  are  required  for  the XP135  upgrade,  which  has  received  Supplemental  Type  Certificate  (STC)  approval  from  the  FAA,  European  Aviation  Safety  Agency  and  Brazil’s
Agência  Nacional  de  Aviação  Civil (ANAC).

“The  XP135  upgrade  has  delivered  everything  that  Blackhawk  said  it  would,  and  then  some”  said  Bill Tharp  of  ADD  Systems.  “We’ve  seen  an  increase  in  true  airspeed,  a  good,  steady  improvement  in  climb rate  through  20,000  feet  and  higher,  and  an  improvement  in  single engine  performance.  In  addition,  passengers  have  noticed the  cabin  is  quieter  on  takeoff,  since  we  now  take  off  at  1,900  revolutions  per  minute  instead  of  the  previous  2,200 rpm.”

The  XP135  upgrade,  which  also  offers  King  Air  operators  lower  operating  costs  and  increased  resale value,  includes  a  flight  manual  supplement,  instructions  for  continued  airworthiness,  a  P&WC  engine  logbook,  a  Blackhawk  logbook  case,  a  cycle  book  and  aircraft  decals,  as  well  as  a prepaid  enrollment  in  CAMP  Systems’  aircraft  maintenance  tracking  program  and  The  Trend  Group  Turbine  Trend Analysis  program.  New  Blackhawk  DigiLog  gauges  are  available  as  option  with  the  upgrade. “Blackhawk’s  expertise  and  efforts  are  focused  on  enabling  turboprop  operators  to  get  greater performance  and  economy  from  their  aircraft,”  said  Blackhawk  President  and  CEO  Jim  Allmon.  “We’re pleased  to  deliver  that  greater  capability  for  B&G  Aircraft.” Blackhawk  offers  a  series  of  XP  upgrades  for  King  Air  aircraft.  To  date,  it  has  completed  more  than  340 such  upgrades  of  King  Air  90 and  200 series  aircraft.  It  will  be  displaying  those  upgrades  and  its  other products  and  services  for  turboprop powered  aircraft  at  Booth  Number  358/359  during  EAA’s  Airventure  2013  here  through  August  4.

Blackhawk  Modifications,  Inc.,  founded  in  1999  in  Waco,  Texas,  is  a  recognized  aviation  leader  in providing  engine  performance  solutions  to  the  turboprop  fleet.   The  company  has  the  largest  installed  fleet  of  STC  twin engine  turboprop  engine  upgrades  and  is  the  largest  buyer  of  new  Pratt  &  Whitney  Canada  turboprop  engines  in  the  world.   A  worldwide  network  of  approved  dealers  and  service  support  centers  complements  Blackhawk’s  U.S.  facilities.

For  more  information,  visit  www.blackhawk.aero. Contact:  Lisa  Sifuentes BDN  Aerospace  Marketing 505  S.  Val  Vista,  Suite  1 Mesa,  AZ    85204 (480)  924-­0690 lisa@bdnaerospace.com