ZHUHAI, China (Nov. 1, 2016) – Beechcraft Corporation, a subsidiary of Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company, today announced the order of two Beechcraft King Air 350ER turboprops to Sichuan Xihua General Aviation Co., Ltd. The order was sold through Beechcraft’s channel partner in China, Avion Pacific. Avion Pacific and Xihua Aviation Company held a signing ceremony at Airshow China 2016 in Zhuhai.
“Textron Aviation values its longstanding relationship with Xihua Aviation. Xihua Aviation has been successfully operating the Cessna Caravan 208 for aerial mapping and other missions in China,” said Bill Schultz, Textron Aviation’s senior vice president of Business Development, China. “We are excited that our flagship multi-mission Beechcraft King Air 350ER will join Xihua Aviation’s fleet. With the world’s largest service network, Textron Aviation will continue to support and assist our customers’ businesses.”
Xihua Aviation Company was founded by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) in 1996; the firm is dedicated to serving aerial photography, cloud seeding, aerial forest protection and many other general aviation missions in China. The company continues to deliver best-in-class services and is expanding its operations.
“The Beechcraft King Air 350ER turboprop has proven to be an excellent aircraft for special mission operations worldwide. We are delighted that the two King Air 350ER turboprops will join our fleet. With the new aircraft, we expect to strengthen our capability to efficiently operate multiple missions,” said Li Dajun, General Manager of Xihua Aviation. “With the King Air 350ER, we will not only continue to serve critical tasks, such as aerial mapping but also pay close attention to air rescue, weather modification and other emerging general aviation sectors. We look forward to growing our long-term relationship with Textron Aviation.”
The King Air 350ER turboprop offers flexible and reconfigurable interiors; making them equally adept at weather modification, commuter transport, cargo, air rescue and other missions. The King Air 350ER is frequently selected for these missions due to its high dash speeds, long endurance, high reliability, and low operating cost. In addition, Pro Line Fusion for the King Air brings one of the most trusted avionics designs to the first full touch-screen flight display system.
More than 7,300 Beechcraft King Air turboprops have been delivered to customers around the world since 1964, making it the best-selling business turboprop family in the world. The worldwide fleet has surpassed 60 million flight hours in its first 52 years, flying business missions ranging from traditional passenger and cargo transport to electronic and imagery surveillance, air ambulance, airway/airport calibration, photographic mapping, training and weather modification.
