Textron Aviation Receives Order for Five Beechcraft King Air Turboprops in Support of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Weather Modification Mission

Textron Aviation announces it has been awarded a contract by AvMet International, LLC (AvMet), based in Fargo, ND, for one Beechcraft King Air 360CHW (cargo door, heavy weight) and four Beechcraft King Air 260 aircraft. The Beechcraft King Air fleet will support the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Meteorology program for cloud seeding.

The Beechcraft King Air is designed and manufactured by Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company.  

“We’re honored AvMet has chosen a fleet of Beechcraft King Air aircraft to support the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Meteorology cloud-seeding program,” says Bob Gibbs, vice president, Special Mission Sales for Textron Aviation. “The King Air continues to be selected for a wide range of special-mission roles around the world due to the aircraft’s capabilities and reliability.”

AvMet and its partners, Weather Modification International (WMI) and Fargo Jet Center (FJC), will work collaboratively to equip the four King Air 260 aircraft with a cloud water inertial probe (CWIP), data logger with aircraft tracking, and cloud-seeding equipment. The King Air 360CHW will be rigged with cloud-seeding equipment, a research laboratory, and an instrument package for studying cloud physics and aerosols.

The aircraft will be modified at WMI’s headquarters in Fargo with sister company Fargo Jet Center LLC (FJC).  FJC’s Part 145 Repair Station, which is an authorized service facility for the family of Beechcraft King Air aircraft, teamed with WMI to certify the FAA-approved supplemental type certificate modifications for cloud-seeding and atmospheric research equipment. Together, Textron Aviation, WMI and FJC will provide the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Meteorology with the newest technologies in cloud seeding and atmospheric sciences instrumentation.

For more information, visit txtav.com.