The Beechcraft King Air series has its roots in the Twin Bonanza of 1951. That aircraft model was enlarged and re-engined to become the model 65 Queen Air. The Queen Air design changed with a swept tail and pressurization. With the addition of Pratt & Whitney turboprop engines, the Queen Air became the model 90 King Air. The King Air 90 begat the stretched King Air 100, which in turn had a T-Tail added to become the King Air 200. The King Air 200 was certificated in 1973. Still in production, the current models of the 200 are the B200, B200SE, and, with the addition of a 52-inch square cargo door, the B200C and B200CSE. The 200 series is one of the most popular selling turbine aircraft ever, with nearly 2,000 of these aircraft built. Pratt & Whitney PT6A-41’s power the early model 200’s while PT6A-42’s are found in B200’s. The differences between the 200 and B200, besides the engines, are that the 200’s have electrically operated gear while the B200 has hydraulic gear. Also, with nearly 30-years continuous production, models also see evolutionary improvement over time. The B200SE is a “Special Edition” B200 with fewer options, more basic avionics and a reduced base price over the B200 – essentially a price leader. The 200’s seat six and do have aft-lavatories. The cabin is not round, but shaped similar to a loaf of bread. This gives the passenger more shoulder room than a round cabin. The King Air 200/B200 is a stable, reliable, versatile aircraft. While there are other aircraft that are faster, bigger, or less expensive, the 200 series King Airs have that right mix of the three to ensure nearly three decades of sales.