King Air B90 N7BF, one of 184 B90s built between 1968 and 1970. · Photo: KOMRADE DIMITRI, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Beechcraft · Turboprop
King Air B90
Third version of the King Air 90, after the original 90 and the A90.
The B90 offers twin-engine redundancy and the King Air cabin for the price of a used single, but its original PT6A-20 engines are costly and hard to overhaul. Buy one on engine time and records, not on asking price.
Buy it if
You want a pressurized twin for 300 to 800 nm trips with four or five people, fly it yourself or with one pilot, and already have a plan and a budget for the engines.
Skip it if
You need jet speed, plan to cross the country often, want modern avionics and factory-fresh support, or would be stretched by a six-figure engine bill soon after buying.
Biggest compromise
The engines. The PT6A-20 is a durable turbine, but few shops still overhaul it and parts are scarce.
The numbers that matter
Purchase price
$383K–$383K
guide value (PlanePhD)
What it costs per year
$512K
at 300 hrs · one professional pilot
How far it flies
1,250 nm
750–900 nm with passengers
How fast
225 kt
high-speed cruise
Seats
5
5 typical, up to 6
Pilots needed
1
Flown by one pilot; no type rating needed, but insurers expect King Air training.
Price
What one costs to buy
Guide value
$383K–$383K
Other sites
Priced vs call
with a price / call for price
Two B90s show asking prices: $495,000 for an upgraded executive example and $295,000 for a skydiving aircraft. PlanePhD's typical value is about $383,000.
Price vs its family and alternatives
Scroll to explore · select a jet for details
King Air B90 · This aircraft
$383K–$383K guide
Guide value, not a listed asking price.
The least expensive here; next up is the Cheyenne II (PA-31T).
For sale now
None listed right now
Cost to own
What it costs per year to run
300hours / year
Per year
Per flight hour
Estimate — your operator will quote actual numbers.
Fuel, airframe maintenance, engine overhaul reserve and propeller reserve and trip costs rise as you fly more. One professional pilot, recurrent training, hangar, insurance and subscriptions and databases stay the same however much you fly.
Where the money goes
- One professional pilot$99,85720%
- Recurrent training$12,0992%
- Hangar$35,1147%
- Insurance$18,5004%
- Subscriptions and databases$6,0001%
- Fuel$167,75433%
- Airframe maintenance$90,00018%
- Engine overhaul reserve$59,81112%
- Propeller reserve and trip costs$22,5004%
Fuel is the biggest single cost at 33% of the total.
The JetGrade
63 out of 100 — Below its class average
Peer group: King Air 90 / A90, King Air C90, Turbo Commander 680T / 680V / 680W / 681, MU-2 short body, Merlin IIA / IIB
Seven categories at a glance
- - - 70 = typical— This aircraft
Strongest on cabin & passenger comfort, weakest on reliability & support.
Grades are editorial opinions about the model, not any specific aircraft. Sponsors and affiliates have no input. Reviewed 2026-10-04.
Where it flies
Sample trips and reach
Typical trips on a map
Nonstop
Depends on weight or weather
Fuel stop likely
2 of 6 sample trips are comfortable nonstops.
Sample flight times
- 1.4 hr
Carlsbad → Las Vegas
205 nm · Short hop, well within range
- 3.4 hr
Carlsbad → Aspen
625 nm · High mountain airport; hot days limit takeoff weight
- 4.0 hr
Santa Ana → San José del Cabo
765 nm · Nonstop with four aboard and reserves
- 4.6 hr
Teterboro → West Palm Beach
900 nm · Near its limit; stop if headwinds or loaded heavy
- 6.4 hr
Dallas → Teterboro
1,190 nm · One stop with four aboard
- 11.1 hr
Carlsbad → Teterboro
2,100 nm · Two stops; a full travel day
Lineage
What came before and after
1968–1970
King Air B90
Longer wing and 350 lb more takeoff weight; 184 built.
What changed from the King Air 90 / A90
- Wingspan grew about five feet, to 50 ft 3 in, with longer wingtips.
- Maximum takeoff weight rose 350 lb, to 9,650 lb.
- Same PT6A-20 engines, now cleared to use their full 550 shaft horsepower each.
- Balanced ailerons and elevators, plus a reshaped rear fuselage.
Size and cabin
How big it is, inside and out
Outside
Silhouette · scaled to length
Length
Wingspan
Height
Inside the cabin
Cabin length
Width
Height
Compare
How it stacks up
This aircraft
King Air B90
- JetGrade
- 63
- Price
- $383K–$383K guide
- Cost per year
- $512K
- Range
- 1,250 nm
- Speed
- 225 kt
- Seats
- 5
- Cabin length
- 12′ 4″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1968–1970
← Before
- JetGrade
- 63
- Price
- $529K
- Cost per year
- $415K
- Range
- 1,160 nm
- Speed
- 216 kt
- Seats
- 5
- Cabin length
- 12′ 4″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1964–1968
After →
- JetGrade
- 69
- Price
- $775K
- Cost per year
- $609K
- Range
- 900 nm
- Speed
- 223 kt
- Seats
- 5
- Cabin length
- 12′ 5″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1971–1983
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 72
- Price
- $770K–$860K guide
- Cost per year
- $586K
- Range
- 1,490 nm
- Speed
- 248 kt
- Seats
- 5
- Cabin length
- 12′ 5″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1972–1981
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 69
- Price
- $435K–$540K guide
- Cost per year
- $505K
- Range
- 1,510 nm
- Speed
- 283 kt
- Seats
- 5
- Cabin length
- 8′ 5″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1974–1981
- King Air C90 instead: Same cabin, weight and speed with simpler bleed-air pressurization; later C90s have PT6A-21 engines that shops still overhaul at flat rates.
- King Air E90 instead: Stronger PT6A-28 engines give better climb and hot-day performance in the same 90-series cabin.
- Piper Cheyenne II instead: Piper's PT6A-28 twin cruises closer to 260 kt with more range, on engines that are still widely overhauled.
Gold marks the best figure in each row.
Owning one
What to know before you buy
Engines & inspections
2 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-20 · 550 shp each
No APUEngine hours until overhaul
- Wing spar fitting inspection · 1,000 hr
- Main gear torque knee directive · 1,000 hr
- Engine hot section inspection · 1,250 hr
- Engine overhaul · 3,600 hr
- Annual or phase inspection every 12 months
- Landing gear six-year inspection every 72 months
No flat-rate overhaul is offered for the PT6A-20, and few shops take them. Owners set money aside each hour or convert to newer engines.
Known issues
Orphan engine overhauls
Few shops still overhaul the original PT6A-20 and parts are scarce; two overhauls can exceed the airplane's value.
Wing fitting cracks
A 2021 directive requires inspecting the lower forward wing fitting for cracks; spar fittings need repeat eddy-current checks.
Supercharger pressurization system
An engine-driven supercharger and fuel-burning heater pressurize the cabin, a system only the A90 and B90 use.
Pre-buy checklist
0 of 10 checked
King Air shops are found at most large US airports, and Textron still supports the 90 series. Engine overhaul shops and parts for the original PT6A-20 are much harder to find.
Review
The full review
Strengths
- Two turboprop engines and a 4.6 psi cabin that stays at 10,000 ft while flying at 25,000 ft.
- Carries about 1,110 lb of people and bags with full fuel after a 200 lb pilot.
- Asking prices of $295,000 to $495,000 buy a pressurized twin with the King Air cabin.
Limitations
- Cruises at about 225 kt, roughly 45 kt slower than the final King Air C90GTx.
- No flat-rate overhaul exists for its PT6A-20 engines; the newer PT6A-21 costs $319,000 each.
- Only 184 were built and 29 remain on the US registry, so parts and buyers are few.
The King Air B90 is the third version of Beechcraft's King Air 90, the pressurized twin turboprop that created the business turboprop market in the mid-1960s. It followed the original 90 and the A90, first flew in April 1967 and was delivered from 1968 to 1970. Beechcraft built 184 of them before the C90 took over for 1971. Compared with the A90, the B90 got a wing about five feet longer, a maximum takeoff weight 350 lb higher at 9,650 lb, balanced flight controls, and permission to use the full 550 shaft horsepower of its two Pratt & Whitney PT6A-20 engines.
Pilot's take
The B90 flies like the King Airs that followed it: stable, honest and comfortable on short, rough strips, with reversing propellers that make short landings routine. The -20 engines want attention on hot days, because takeoff power is often limited by turbine temperature rather than torque. Pilots coming from newer 90s need to learn the supercharger pressurization and the secondary low pitch stop system, which older King Air instructors describe as easy to misunderstand. Engine-out practice matters in any light twin. Plan around 225 kt, about 71 gallons an hour, and flight levels in the low to mid twenties.
Who this is for
An owner-pilot or small business flying 100 to 300 hours a year with up to five people on regional trips, who wants two engines and pressurization and can budget for engine work on a 55-year-old airframe.
Ask about this aircraft
Answers come only from our research file on the King Air B90.
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