Textron Aviation has won a contract from Fargo, North Dakota-based AvMet International for one Beechcraft King Air 360CHW (cargo door, heavy weight) and four Beechcraft King Air 260 aircraft, the manufacturer said Tuesday. The Beechcraft King Air fleet will support the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Meteorology program for cloud seeding.
AvMet and its partners Weather Modification International (WMI) and Fargo Jet Center (FJC) will work collaboratively to equip the four King Air 260s with a cloud water inertial probe, data logger with aircraft tracking, and cloud seeding equipment. They will fit the King Air 360CHW with cloud-seeding equipment, a research laboratory, and an instrument package for studying cloud physics and aerosols.
The aircraft will undergo modification at WMI’s headquarters in Fargo with sister company FJC. As an authorized service facility for the family of Beechcraft King Air aircraft, FJC’s Part 145 repair station teamed with WMI to obtain the FAA-approved supplemental type certificate modifications for cloud seeding and atmospheric research equipment.
Textron says its aircraft provide the high performance and flight characteristics required to address the unique challenges of special mission operations, including air ambulance, ISR, utility transport, aerial survey, flight inspection, and training.