Photo: Matti Blume, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Pleasant, natural, and measurably pitch-heavy: a real bob-weight per-g feel, roll lightened 35–40% by design, and a horn-first stall with little buffet.
Sources: Beechcraft King Air 350i POH/AFM; FAA TCDS A24CE; Textron published data.
The King Air 350i is the definitive twin turboprop: eleven seats, known ice, flight levels, and a cockpit that has trained two generations of turbine pilots. It is flown by crews and owner-pilots alike, and it rewards smooth, deliberate handling over quick hands.
For a simmer the 350i is the heavy-manual-controls experience: no boost, honest cable-and-pushrod loads scaled up to 15,000 pounds. Everything is firmer, steadier, and slower to upset than the singles, and the profile is tuned for exactly that planted, big-Beech character.
The King Air line is the longest continuously produced business aircraft family in history, running since 1964. The 350 of 1990 stretched the 300 and added winglets; the 350i of 2009 modernized the cabin and later gained the Pro Line Fusion flight deck.
Beyond the boardroom the 350 platform does air ambulance, survey, ISR, and military multi-engine training worldwide, which is why so many real pilots have time in one. The 350i modeled here is the Fusion-era civilian aircraft.
Each finding pairs our reading with the evidence it rests on. Fly the type and read something wrong? Every claim links straight to the corrections form.
The controls have a pleasant, natural feel but forces are noticeably heavier in pitch than in roll, and the 350 specifically reduced the 300's roll forces by 35–40% per Beech's own engineers. "A tad heavy because, well, it's a big, heavy airplane."
The pitch feel is a designed bob-weight-plus-down-spring architecture: the bob weight grew from 10 to 17.5 lb on the 350 with trim rigging adjusted so maneuvering forces stayed reasonable. A 300 pilot over-controlled his first 350 takeoff because the forces dropped.
Easily trimmed hands-off using the three excellent trim wheels.
The T-tail prototype was fitted with both a shaker and a pusher; neither proved necessary, and production King Airs warn with the horn. Instructors stress there is very little pre-stall buffet and the elevator stays light and powerful through the stall — the secondary-stall trap. One flight test did report good natural buffet, so the cue is modest, not absent.
| Gate | Knots | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| VsoStall, landing configuration | 81 | Landing configuration · King Air 350i Specification & Description (2015) |
| VrRotation | 100 | Representative |
| VyBest rate of climb | 125 | Representative |
| VappApproach | 105 | ≈1.3 × VsoRepresentative |
The complete starter profile, in the same order and with the same names as the desktop Tuning page. Highlighted rows cite evidence. Hover a row to see its profile-JSON path.
The final overall output scale applied to everything the model produces, before the device cap.
▲ More: everything (spring, loads, effects) gets stronger together. ▼ Less: everything softens together.
Why here: 86%: a hair above the singles; the whole aircraft is heavier through the hands.
The base centring force that pulls the stick back to centre. Every other force stacks on it. Too low and the stick feels limp in normal flight; too high and it fights your hand and masks the smaller cues layered above it.
▲ More: firmer centring that resists your hand at all times. ▼ Less: a limper stick that leans on aerodynamic load alone.
Why here: 90%: the yoke centres with genuine mass. A King Air control column does not feel like a trainer's.
A small neutral zone around centre where the spring stays quiet, so tiny movements at rest don't chatter. Wider is calmer but looser; narrower is more precise but can twitch around centre.
▲ More: a calmer but looser centre with more free play. ▼ Less: a tighter centre that may chatter at rest.
Why here: 5%: a long cable run to big surfaces carries a little more play than the singles.
How much of the spring survives at a standstill, before airspeed can build any aerodynamic force. A high floor keeps the parked stick firm; a low floor gives the loose, cable-slack feel of a parked light aircraft.
▲ More: a firmer stick while parked and taxiing. ▼ Less: a floppier parked stick that only wakes up with airspeed.
Why here: 55%: substantial even parked.
The sustained pitch load from elevator deflection and airspeed, balanced independently of roll. This is the main lever behind a type's pitch weight. It does not touch aileron, spring, trim, or buffet forces.
▲ More: heavier sustained pitch forces at speed. ▼ Less: a lighter elevator that takes less muscle to hold.
The measured harmony: pitch noticeably heavier.
The sustained roll load from aileron deflection and airspeed, balanced independently of pitch. Together with the elevator load it sets the control-harmony ratio reviewers talk about.
▲ More: heavier roll forces. ▼ Less: lighter, quicker-feeling ailerons.
Roll lightened 35–40% by design on the 350.
A master scale over both sustained axis loads, applied before their independent balance. Profiles normally leave this alone and tune the two axis loads instead.
▲ More: both axes load up harder. ▼ Less: both axes lighten together.
Why here: 68% with a 210 kt reference lands the absolute loads well above the singles.
The indicated airspeed where aerodynamic load reaches its designed full level. It anchors the whole load curve to the aircraft's real speed range: a 172 loads up by 110 knots, a jet much later.
▲ More: loads arrive later; the stick stays light up to a higher speed. ▼ Less: loads arrive earlier and cruise feels heavier.
Why here: 210 kt indicated: high-speed cruise in the mid flight levels on the tape.
How sharply stick load builds with airspeed. 1.0 is linear; about 2.0 matches real aerodynamics, where dynamic pressure grows with the square of speed, so controls are much lighter slow and firm up fast. Felt when holding the stick off centre, not at rest.
▲ More: lighter at low speed with a steeper rise toward cruise. ▼ Less: a more linear build that loads up earlier.
Manual cable controls, class q-law; the spring keeps firming above 105 kt toward the 210 kt reference.
How much the centring itself stiffens with speed, on top of the deflection loads. Zero keeps centre feel constant; more makes the stick centre harder at cruise and looser in the pattern.
▲ More: a centre that hardens noticeably as you go faster. ▼ Less: constant centre feel at every speed.
The q-law's firming into cruise, kept moderate for a transport flown on trim.
A cap on each steady pitch or roll force before it reaches the device, guarding against slamming or saturating the hardware in strong maneuvers.
▲ More: stronger peak steady forces before clipping. ▼ Less: a gentler ceiling; hard maneuvers flatten out sooner.
Why here: 66%: the strongest steady ceiling of the propeller fleet, because the real aircraft genuinely pushes back.
For hydraulically-boosted or fly-by-wire types: how much of the raw aerodynamic load actually reaches the pilot's hand. 1.0 is a fully manual control run; lower values model the artificial-feel systems that isolate the pilot from true surface loads.
▲ More: more raw aerodynamic load reaching your hand. ▼ Less: more isolation, closer to pure artificial feel.
Why here: Inert for a manual control run.
How strongly elevator trim relieves held pitch force and shifts where the stick settles. At 100%, a properly trimmed aircraft needs no held pressure, the trim-away-the-load workflow of real flying.
▲ More: trim removes more of the held pitch force; at 100% full trim zeroes it. ▼ Less: you keep holding force even when trimmed.
Why here: 30%: big trim changes with flap and power are King Air life; trim eases them but does not erase them.
The same relief for roll trim. Most GA types have no real aileron trim, so this stays at zero; types with roll trim get a matching value.
▲ More: roll trim removes more held roll force. ▼ Less: roll trim does less.
Why here: 14%: the type carries usable aileron trim.
Extra spring stiffness as positive G rises above 1G: the pull-up loads your arm as well as the wing. Too little and steep turns feel weightless; too much and maneuvering becomes tiring.
▲ More: pull-ups and steep turns stiffen the stick more per g. ▼ Less: g has less effect; maneuvering stays light.
The 17.5 lb bob weight is a genuine per-g force device — the firmest transport-class G curve after the C172's trainer yoke.
Extra centre deadband added at parked and taxi speeds, narrowing away as airflow builds. It keeps the stick calm on the ramp without costing precision in flight.
▲ More: a calmer, looser stick on the ground. ▼ Less: ground handling as precise as flight, and as twitchy.
Why here: 8%: calm on long taxis.
How far through the travel the edge-of-throw spring boost begins. High values leave most of the range linear and put a firm wall only near full deflection.
▲ More: the end-of-travel wall starts later, leaving more linear throw. ▼ Less: the wall begins earlier in the travel.
Why here: Wall from 86% travel.
How strong that edge-of-travel boost is once triggered: a soft warning versus a hard stop near full throw.
▲ More: a harder stop near full deflection. ▼ Less: a softer edge you can push through.
Why here: 28%: firm stops; full deflection is an abnormal event at these speeds.
Rolling surface vibration from wheel speed and surface type: pavement, grass, or gravel under the gear.
▲ More: louder surface texture through the stick. ▼ Less: a smoother taxi.
Why here: 42%: heavy trailing-link mains roll solidly; you feel the airplane's mass in the texture.
Short discrete bumps from expansion joints, ruts, and rough surface, punctuating the continuous rumble.
▲ More: sharper hits from joints and ruts. ▼ Less: softer ground detail.
Why here: 32%: expansion joints arrive with weight behind them.
Vibration under brake pressure while rolling. Invisible braking feels wrong; too much makes every stop feel like an anti-skid event.
▲ More: more shudder under braking. ▼ Less: quieter stops.
Why here: 44%: serious brakes on a heavy twin.
The rapid side-to-side wobble through the roll axis at taxi-rotation speeds, the classic worn-nosegear shimmy this type is or isn't known for.
▲ More: a livelier shimmy on the rollout. ▼ Less: a calmer nosewheel.
Why here: Present, modest.
The fore-aft pull on the pitch axis from acceleration on the ground. The takeoff surge draws the column aft; braking pushes it forward.
▲ More: a stronger fore-aft pull under acceleration and braking. ▼ Less: a subtler surge cue.
Why here: 28%: 2,100 shp of surge pulls the column honestly.
Airframe shake approaching the stall and while the stall warning is active: how loudly this wing announces it is unhappy. Types with a crisp break get modest buffet and let the horn carry the warning.
▲ More: a louder pre-stall shake. ▼ Less: a quieter wing; the horn carries the warning.
Splits the difference between the flight test's "good natural buffet" and the instructor's "very little".
Airframe shake past the overspeed warning, the airframe's own protest at exceeding Vne/VMO.
▲ More: a harsher protest past the redline. ▼ Less: a gentler overspeed warning.
Why here: 58%: barber-pole excursions in a King Air are treated as events.
Transonic buffet approaching the Mach limit. Meaningful for jets near MMO, zero for pistons and turboprops that never get there.
▲ More: stronger transonic buffet near the Mach limit. ▼ Less: a smoother high-Mach ride.
Why here: A token 12% at the very top of the envelope.
Low-frequency airframe vibration with flaps extended into the airflow, in the speed window where they actually work the air.
▲ More: a rougher ride with flaps working the air. ▼ Less: smoother approach flap.
Why here: Big flaps at approach speed drum the airframe.
Airframe drumming from retractable gear hanging in the airstream. Zero for fixed-gear types, where the airframe never changes shape.
▲ More: more drumming with the wheels hanging out. ▼ Less: cleaner gear-down flight.
Why here: 24%: three large gear in the slipstream.
The dedicated stall stick-shaker buzz, fired by the aircraft's own stall-warning system. Only types with a real shaker get a value; everything else relies on aerodynamic buffet and the horn.
▲ More: a harder stick-shaker buzz. ▼ Less: a subtler shaker.
Why here: The 350i carries a real stick shaker; enabled at the standard amplitude.
Whether this feature is active in this profile.
The profile was rendering a shaker the production aircraft does not have. The horn is aural (the sim's job); the tactile cue is the modest natural buffet.
Random shake from short-term G variation in rough air, so bumpy air is felt and not just seen.
▲ More: rough air hits the stick harder. ▼ Less: calmer chop.
Why here: 36%: wing loading smooths the ride; chop is felt but damped.
Rollout vibration while reverse thrust or beta-range props are working. Zero for types without reverse.
▲ More: a rougher rollout under reverse. ▼ Less: quieter reverse.
Why here: 48%: twin reversing props on rollout are a defining King Air sensation.
Continuous powerplant vibration following RPM between idle and full power, the ever-present reminder that something is burning fuel up front.
▲ More: more engine through the stick. ▼ Less: a quieter powerplant.
Why here: 16%: two PT6s hum in sync; smooth, present, unmistakably turbine.
The one-shot kick when the wheels meet the runway, scaled by sink rate: a greaser whispers, a firm arrival thumps.
▲ More: a harder kick at touchdown. ▼ Less: softer arrivals.
Why here: 82%: fifteen thousand pounds arriving is an event, even on trailing links.
The short shudder of gear extension and retraction in motion. Zero for fixed-gear types.
▲ More: a stronger shudder while the gear cycles. ▼ Less: a subtler gear cue.
Why here: 55%: the gear cycle is long and mechanical and every crew feels it.
Continuous vibration only while the sim reports the flap surfaces actually travelling. It follows real actuator motion and failures, not an estimated timer.
▲ More: more vibration while the flap surfaces travel. ▼ Less: quieter flap runs.
Why here: Substantial surfaces in motion.
The small airframe settle when flap-surface travel completes, driven by the surface arriving, not the handle command.
▲ More: a firmer settle as flaps reach the notch. ▼ Less: a softer arrival.
Why here: A definite settle per stage.
The short mechanical click on each flap-handle detent. The handle, not the surfaces.
▲ More: a sharper detent click. ▼ Less: a fainter click.
Why here: 36%: the flap handle moves with intent.
The sustained pitch-force change from flap drag at airspeed. Extending flaps should change what your hand holds, not just make noise.
▲ More: a bigger stick-load change when the flaps come out. ▼ Less: less trim shift from flap.
Why here: Modest displayed drag change; the real trim change is mostly flown out with trim.
The trim-like load change from gear hanging in the airflow. Zero for fixed-gear types.
▲ More: a bigger load change from the gear. ▼ Less: less.
Why here: Slight rebalance gear-down.
Power-on pitch bias from propwash over the elevator: why adding power on a prop aircraft nudges the nose and the stick. Zero for jets.
▲ More: a stronger power-on pitch nudge. ▼ Less: power changes feel more neutral.
Why here: 8%: wing-mounted props wash the wing, not the tail. Deliberately low; power-pitch coupling is mild on the type.
Resistance proportional to the aircraft's pitch rotation rate. It settles the stick after abrupt pitch inputs; zero on both axes turns rate damping off.
▲ More: the stick settles harder against pitch rotation. ▼ Less: less resistance to quick pitch changes.
Why here: 9%: heavy controls settle; nothing about a King Air bounces.
The roll-axis counterpart: damping against roll rate to stop post-input wobble.
▲ More: more resistance to roll rate. ▼ Less: a livelier roll axis.
Why here: Matching heavy-roll settle.
How far autopilot commands may physically move the stick. Kept tiny in MSFS, where a moved axis can read back as pilot input; zero disables following entirely.
▲ More: the autopilot visibly moves your stick further. ▼ Less: a barely perceptible follow.
Why here: Tiny follow for the Fusion autopilot.
How firmly the stick holds the autopilot's commanded position while following is active.
▲ More: a firmer hold on the AP's commanded position. ▼ Less: softer, easy to override.
Why here: Enough hold to feel the crew's other pilot.
Research retune: removed the shaker the production aircraft doesn't have, set the measured pitch-heavy/light-roll harmony, kept the bob-weight-backed G curve.
Initial starter baseline.
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No published stick-force-per-g for the B300 — the bob-weight mass and the 35–40% roll reduction are the quantitative anchors; absolute magnitudes are bench-set.
Steep-turn force data absent; the "floats on landing" claim is unverifiable.
Open conversation about flying and tuning the Beechcraft King Air 350i, in the community forum. Corrections above go privately to the maintainer; hangar talk is public.