No. 45 (R) Squadron Introduction

Not all Royal Air Force aircrew trainees are destined to fly fast jets. The training course that leads to the pilot's seat of a Tornado is very different to the one that leads to a Hercules.

Pilots destined to fly multi-engine aircraft are selected at the elementary stage of flying training. They then progress to a short course destined to lead in to flying multi-engined aircraft. These courses are carried out on either Bulldog or Firefly aircraft. After this, they begin training on the Beechcraft King Air B200 with No 3 Flying Training School at RAF Cranwell. This course introduces all the complexities of multi-engined flying, including asymmetric thrust in single engine operations.

Aircraft Specification:
 
Length: 43' 10”
Span: 54' 6”
Height: 14' 10”
MTOW: 12,500 lb
Max Fuel: 3,644 lb

The aircraft carries twin ADF, twin VOR/DME, twin VHF radio and a single UHF radio. The B200 is fully RVSM and European R-NAV compliant. Inflatable de-icing boots are fitted to the wing and horizontal stabiliser leading edges along with propeller, windshield and engine anti-icing. Other features include a three-axis autopilot, yaw damper and flight director with which auto coupled approaches may be flown down to DH.