B200 Super King Air Research Support Aircraft

NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center 

in Edwards, California, operates a Beechcraft B200 Super King Air aircraft. NASA 

tail number (TN) 801 serves as a testbed for 

various aeronautical research and airborne 

science projects. This B200 Super King Air 

also serves as a pilot proficiency aircraft as 

part of NASA’s support aircraft fleet (SAF). 

Experiments Flown

The B200 Super King Air TN 801 has been 

the test aircraft for the following science 

campaigns:

• Signals of Opportunity Synthetic Aperture 

Radar (SoOpSAR). NASA Armstrong’s B200 

aircraft was deployed to Truckee, California, 

and Grand Junction, Colorado, in support of 

the SoOpSAR campaign for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). These were flights to 

assess the use of opportunistic P-band signals 

to obtain spatial enhanced bi-static reflectivity using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) 

techniques. If successful, this technique has 

many applications, including root zone soil 

moisture and snowpack studies. 

• Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE). The B200 Super King Air 

deployed to Moffett Field in Mountain View, 

California, in support of NASA’s S-MODE 

field campaign. This multi-organizational 

study used in situ and remote sensing techniques to provide an unprecedented view 

of the dynamical transition in upper-ocean 

circulation between the mesoscale and 

submesoscale to better understand how it 

shapes Earth’s climate. NASA’s B200 Super 

King Air was outfitted with JPL’s DopplerScatt radar and University of California, Los 

Angeles’ Multiscale Observing System of the 

Ocean Surface (MOSES) camera system for 

this study.

Flight crews at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, flew the B200 Super King Air for the Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE). NASA/Carla Thomas 

AFRC2021-0059-33
FS-2022-11-099 AFRC

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Armstrong Flight Research Center

P.O. Box 273

Edwards, California 93523

NASA Facts

• Boundary Layer Data System (BLDS). NASA Armstrong’s B200 Super King Air was used for a Center 

Initiative Fund project that studied air flow over one of 

the wings. The BLDS is a project created by professors 

and students at California Polytechnic State University, 

San Luis Obispo that performed boundary layer studies 

across an airfoil during pilot proficiency flights.

Aircraft Description

The Beechcraft B200 Super King Air is a widely-deployed general aviation aircraft, commonly used for business travel, express cargo delivery, and related purposes. 

The U.S. military also operates this type of aircraft as the 

C-12 Huron utility transport. Modeled after the earlier 

King Air 100, the King Air 200 was developed in the 

early 1970s with the first flight of the prototype in October 

1972. The King Air 200 was awarded its airworthiness 

certificate under the Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) 

Part 23 in December 1973.

The B200 Super King Air is an evolutionary aircraft that 

has better performance than the original King Air 200 due 

to upgraded engines. NASA acquired two B200 Super 

King Air aircraft in the early 1980s: NASA TN 7 in 1981 

and NASA TN 801 in 1983.

NASA TN 801 plays a role in three of Armstrong’s flight 

divisions: aeronautics research, airborne science, and pilot 

proficiency. With its modified forward and aft nadir ports 

(used to install radars, camera systems, antennas, etc.), 

in-cabin equipment racks, and interchangeable zenith antenna ports, TN 801 can be modified to suit a wide range 

of scientific experiments and needs. Aside from flying in 

scientific research, TN 801 is one of Armstrong’s pilot 

proficiency aircraft, assisting pilots in maintaining the 

requirements to fly.

Aircraft Specifications

Wingspan: 57 feet, 11 inches

Wing aspect ratio: 9.8 to 1

Wing loading maximum: 41.3 pounds per square foot

Length: 43 feet, 9 inches

Height: 15 feet

Empty weight: 7,315 pounds

Maximum takeoff weight: 13,420 pounds

Engines: TN 801 is fitted with two United Aircraft 

of Canada PT6A-52 turboprop engines rated at 850 

maximum shaft horsepower (shp) driving three-blade, 

constant-speed, and full-feathering reversible propellers. 

NASA TN 7 is fitted with similar PT6A-42 engines. 

Crew: Two pilots, with full dual controls, and instruments payload, including a Garmin G1000 installation. 

Up to 11 passengers, depending on cabin configuration. 

Up to 400 pounds baggage in rear compartment. NASA 

TN 7 also has additional cargo storage in an underbelly 

container.

Service ceiling: 28,000 feet

Maximum speed at 15,000 feet altitude: 260 KCAS

Cruising speed at 25,000 feet altitude at average 

weight: 273 knots (313 mph)

Stalling speed, full flaps: 76 KIAS (87 mph)

Maximum range: 915 to 1,800 nautical miles (1,053 to 

2,075 statute miles) at 27,000 feet altitude with full fuel, 

depending on payload

A flight crew prepares the B200 Super King Air for the SubMesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) at NASA’s 

Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. 

From left are Jeroen Molemaker and Scott “Jelly” Howe 

NASA/Lauren Hughes AFRC2021-0059-02