Beechcraft King Air F90

The F90 is Beechcraft's hot rod: the 90-series fuselage carrying the Model 200's T-tail and, uniquely among the small King Airs, two PT6A-135s installed at their full 750 shp — no flat-rating down to 550. It was built as the "Super King Air F90" from 1979 to 1985: 202 F90s (serials LA-2 through LA-204) and just 33 of the improved F90-1 (PT6A-135A, rated 885 and flat-rated to 750, redesigned "pitot" cowlings). It was also the first King Air with the modern multi-bus 28VDC electrical system, four-blade props turning a quiet 1,900 rpm, and hydraulic landing gear — features the C90A inherited afterward.

The pitch is simple: near-200-series speed on a 90-series budget and ramp footprint. It out-climbs and out-runs everything on the C90 page by 20-40 knots, seats the same cabin, and asks half of what a C90GT does. What you trade is fleet size — 235 airplanes, four decades old, on their own type certificate (A31CE) — which shows up in parts lead times and in the small pool of comparables when you sell.

Book maximum cruise is 307 mph (267 KTAS) — both press sources agree — with the F90-1 a few knots quicker. The stored burn, 498 pph (74 gph) at FL260, is JetAdvisors' figure at essentially that speed and is the weakest number on this page (single source, flagged); down at FL180 the same source shows 648 pph, and AOPA quotes 500-650 pph "depending on power." The stored 1,600 nm range is at maximum-range power, not max cruise — pull the power back and the F90 becomes a genuinely long-legged airplane; run it at 267 knots and plan more like 1,100-1,200 nm with reserves.

Climb is the F90's party trick: 2,380 fpm at 10,950 lb (3,100+ light), better than a C90 by 400 fpm and respectable against a B200. Certified altitude is 31,000 ft; the AOPA/P&P service ceiling at gross is 29,802 ft, and the 4.6 psi cabin makes FL250-270 the comfortable band. Takeoff over 50 ft at sea level is 2,865 ft (JetAdvisors says 2,775 — flagged), so 3,500 ft strips are working territory.

Sourcing caveat: FAA TCDS A31CE was not retrievable during this research pass, so unlike its four sibling pages the airspeed limitations here are not certificate-verified — Vmo/Va are deliberately omitted rather than guessed, and fuel capacity is stored at the two-source 470 gal against a scatter of 429/473/485 in other places. Chasing A31CE (and an F90 POH) is the single highest-value follow-up for this page.

At 10,950 lb gross a typically equipped F90 (~7,200 lb) carries ~3,750 lb useful; full fuel (470 gal / 3,149 lb) leaves ~600 lb — a pilot and one passenger. The working configurations:

Same King Air arithmetic as every sibling: full seats or full tanks. The F90's edge is that "fast" and "efficient" are closer together than on a C90 — 750 installed shp at altitude means pulling back costs less time.

Related pages: King Air C90, King Air C90GT/GTi/GTx, King Air 200/B200, Piper Cheyenne III, Cessna 441 Conquest II, Mitsubishi MU-2, valuation-methodology, engine-overhaul-pricing, insurance-underwriting, maintenance-ecosystem, business-travel, cross-country

Business travel (8/10). Four to six people, 700-1,000 nm, 260+ knots, small-ramp manners. The best speed-per-dollar in the entire King Air line.

Cross-country (8/10). Pulled back, it flies legs the C90 cannot; the T-tail ride in weather is 200-series stable.

Cargo (6/10). ~3,750 lb equipped useful load is B200-adjacent; no cargo door.

Surveying (7/10), Backcountry (3/10), Training (2/10), Local fun (2/10), Aerobatics (1/10). Standard cabin-class turbine logic.

Every F90 left Wichita with early-1980s Collins/Sperry panels; forty years on, panel state defines the fleet. The common refresh is dual GTN Xi + GTX 345 + G600 TXi with the original autopilot overhauled ($120K-$200K); a handful carry full Garmin retrofits and ask over $1.3M. A tired original panel is a $150K+ line item on any purchase — price it in.

• Blackhawk XP135A (F90-series program, StandardAero EASA-approved too) — fresh -135As on exchange; effectively re-engines the airplane at overhaul time for a predictable price.
• Raisbeck props/strakes, BLR mods, and aftermarket cargo/aux fuel arrangements exist in small numbers — F90 STC paperwork is worth verifying carefully given the small fleet.

• Parts: good — PT6A side excellent, F90-unique airframe items are the bottleneck (235 built).
• Mechanics: common — any King Air shop; T-tail rigging wants type experience.
• Hot section ~$45,000/side at 1,800 hr; overhaul ~$320,000/side at 3,600 hr.
• Annual $18,000-$35,000 routine; corrosion-year exposure like any 1980s airframe.
• Direct operating ~$850-$1,050/hr; ~$230,000/yr all-in at 150 hr.

Vref-style retail ran $620,000 (1979) to $970,000 (1985 F90-1) per AOPA in 2019; the 2026 ask for upgraded, mid-time examples averages ~$1.3M with a $600K-$1.4M spread. Engine status rules ($320K/side flat-rate), then panel, then F90-1 status — the 33-airplane subfleet trades at a real premium. This is a connoisseur's King Air: it sells more slowly than a C90 or B200, but to buyers who know exactly what it is.

• Empennage/rear spar-cap corrosion (SAIB CE-19-15) explicitly includes the F90 — the T-tail junction lives out of casual sight. Make the pre-buy climb the ladder.
• AD 2020-26-16 wing-fitting inspections reach the 90/100/200 family; confirm applicability by serial against the current AD list for A31CE aircraft rather than assuming.
• PT6A-135 pattern items as on every PT6 — trend data, borescope, ITT margin.
• Fleet-size effects: F90-unique parts (cowlings, some gear and pressurization components) can take weeks. The owner group and King Air specialty shops (the type has a devoted following) are the supply chain.
• Hydraulic gear (unlike early 90s) — swing it anyway.

Turbine-twin category, hull ~$8,000-$14,000 on typical values, all-in $14,000-$25,000 owner-flown (insurance-costs turbine band). School and recurrent required; underwriters treat F90 time as 90-series time, which helps transitioning C90 owners.