Owners of older Beech King Airs can now ditch their old, air-driven, mechanical attitude indicators and replace them with BendixKing’s new KI 300 digital retrofit. The unit will easily fit in existing instrument panels—without alteration, BendixKing said.
Airplanes with KI 256 and KG 258 pneumatic attitude indicators should be able to swap them out for the $5,995 KI 300 by the end of the year, the company said. A unit fitted with an optional yaw rate gyro interface will go for $7,995. A mechanical slip-skid indicator is also available.
The new solid state attitude indicator will come with a built-in backup battery, so it will remain powered in case of an external electrical system power failure. By the same token, the KI 300 can just as easily serve as a standby emergency attitude indicator, complementing an already-installed attitude indicator.
Certification is pending for the new unit’s use as a sole-source three-axis attitude reference with BendixKing autoflight systems, specifically the KAP 100/150/200 and KFC 150/200/225/250/275 autopilots. The KI 300 can also provide pitch and roll stabilization for compatible weather radar systems.
