King Air C90B N930MQ landing at Las Vegas, photographed by Duncan Kirk. · DUNCAN KIRK · CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) · resized
Beechcraft · Turboprop
King Air C90B / C90SE
Fifth major version of the King Air 90 line, after the C90A and before the faster C90GT.
The C90B is the easiest way into a King Air: a forgiving twin with a comfortable, quiet cabin and strong support. It is slow and short-legged for the money, so asks from $1.3M to $3.1M depend mostly on engines and cockpit upgrades.
Buy it if
You want two engines and a real club cabin for trips of 200 to 700 nm with up to five passengers, often into shorter runways, and value proven support over speed.
Skip it if
You routinely fly more than about 900 nm with four aboard, need to fill every seat and the tanks together, or want jet-like speed for your budget.
Biggest compromise
Payload with full tanks. The tanks hold 384 gallons, and with them full a standard C90B carries only about 350 lb after the pilot.
The numbers that matter
Purchase price
$2.52M
typical asking · $1.29M–$3.1M
What it costs per year
$605K
at 300 hrs · one professional pilot
How far it flies
1,049 nm
640–926 nm with passengers
How fast
246 kt
high-speed cruise
Seats
6
6 typical; up to 12 high-density
Pilots needed
1
Certified for one pilot; many are owner-flown, and insurers expect formal initial and yearly training.
Price
What one costs to buy
Typical asking price
$2,525,000
Where asking prices sit
Low
$1.29M
Typical
$2.52M
High
$3.1M
Most asking prices fall inside this band.
Other sites
Priced vs call
with a price / call for price
Six of 14 listings show asks. Aircraft with engine upgrades and Garmin cockpits ask $2.75M–$3.1M; published guides put typical value at $1.42M–$1.78M.
Price vs its family and alternatives
Scroll to explore · select a jet for details
King Air C90B / C90SE · This aircraft
$2.52M
Sits between the King Air C90GT and the King Air C90GTi.
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$109,19018%
- Recurrent training$7,9501%
- Hangar$25,0004%
- Insurance$20,8003%
- Subscriptions and databases$8,2501%
- Fuel$197,62833%
- Airframe maintenance$142,50024%
- Engine overhaul reserve$76,50013%
- Propeller reserve and trip costs$17,5003%
Fuel is the biggest single cost at 33% of the total.
The JetGrade
70 out of 100 — Typical for its class
Peer group: King Air C90A, King Air E90, Piper Cheyenne IIXL, Cessna Conquest I (425), Pilatus PC-12/45
Seven categories at a glance
- - - 70 = typical— This aircraft
Strongest on reliability & support, weakest on speed & trip time.
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
- 1.2 hr
Carlsbad → Las Vegas
205 nm · Short hop, well within range
- 3.2 hr
Carlsbad → Aspen
625 nm · Mountain airport; summer departures may need less weight
- 3.8 hr
Santa Ana → San José del Cabo
765 nm · Nonstop with four at economy cruise
- 5.0 hr
Teterboro → West Palm Beach
900 nm · Near the four-passenger limit; winds decide
- 5.6 hr
Dallas → Teterboro
1,190 nm · One stop with four aboard
- 10.5 hr
Carlsbad → Teterboro
2,100 nm · Two stops, typically mid-continent
Lineage
What came before and after
1992–2005
King Air C90B / C90SE
Four-blade props, vibration absorbers and a quieter cabin.
What changed from the King Air C90A
- Four-blade propellers replace three-blade units, lowering engine-out control speed to 80 kt.
- 26 tuned vibration absorbers and new insulation cut cabin noise about 4 dB on average.
- Interior restyled to King Air 350 standard, with about 6 in more club legroom.
- Collins two-tube electronic flight displays and autopilot standard from the 1993 model year.
- Flap preselect and a ground-fine propeller setting for shorter landing rolls.
- Weights and fuel unchanged; empty weight rose about 36 lb.
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 C90B / C90SE
- JetGrade
- 70
- Price
- $2.52M
- Cost per year
- $605K
- Range
- 1,049 nm
- Speed
- 246 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 12′ 8″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1992–2005
← Before
- JetGrade
- 71
- Price
- $1.42M
- Cost per year
- $550K
- Range
- 1,120 nm
- Speed
- 247 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 12′ 4″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1984–1992
After →
- JetGrade
- 64
- Price
- $2.13M–$2.38M guide
- Cost per year
- $721K
- Range
- 981 nm
- Speed
- 271 kt
- Seats
- 5
- Cabin length
- 12′ 6″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 2006–2008
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 77
- Price
- $2.9M
- Cost per year
- $515K
- Range
- 1,500 nm
- Speed
- 265 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 16′ 11″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1996–2005
- King Air C90GT instead: Same cabin with PT6A-135A engines that hold power higher and add about 25 kt; fewer were built, so asks run higher.
- Pilatus PC-12/45 instead: One engine instead of two, but a bigger cabin, a cargo door, about 270 kt and far more range with passengers aboard.
- King Air C90A instead: Same engines, weights and cabin layout for less money; louder, with three-blade propellers and older interiors.
Gold marks the best figure in each row.
Owning one
What to know before you buy
Engines & inspections
2 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-21 · 550 shp each
No APUEngine hours until overhaul
- Phase inspection · 200 hr
- Engine fuel nozzle check · 400 hr
- Starter-generator overhaul · 1,000 hr
- Engine hot section inspection · 1,800 hr
- Engine overhaul · 3,600 hr
- Propeller overhaul · 4,000 hr
- Landing gear six-year inspection every 72 months
- Wing attach bolt replacement every 240 months
Several aircraft for sale use an extended-overhaul program allowing up to 8,000 hours. Most owners set money aside each hour; price both engines into any offer.
Known issues
Two-engine overhaul exposure
Each PT6A-21 costs $319,000 to $404,000 to overhaul at the 2026 factory flat rate, due every 3,600 hours.
Wing bolts and spar records
Wing attach bolts have mandatory replacement times and regular checks; any non-factory spar repair is a serious red flag.
Nacelle corrosion
Corrosion under nacelle fuel-tank cover panels and at nacelle splice plates is a known finding on older King Airs.
Pre-buy checklist
0 of 10 checked
Textron Aviation and a large network of independent King Air shops support the C90B, and Pratt & Whitney offers flat-rate overhauls and exchange engines for the PT6A-21.
Review
The full review
Strengths
- Cabin is 4 ft 10 in tall and 4 ft 6 in wide, with a four-seat club, side seat and belted toilet.
- Clears a 50 ft obstacle in 2,710 ft at full weight and stops in 2,290 ft without reverse.
- Two Pratt & Whitney PT6A-21 engines and 433 C90Bs built mean deep parts and shop support.
Limitations
- Tops out near 246 kt and cruises 196 kt for best range, slower than most rivals.
- About 350 lb of payload after the pilot with full tanks; four passengers trade fuel for weight.
- Two engines to overhaul: the factory flat rate is $319,000 to $404,000 each in 2026.
The King Air C90B is the 1992–2005 version of Beechcraft's smallest King Air, the twin turboprop that has been the usual first step into turbine twins since the 1960s. It kept the C90A's airframe, fuel and two 550 shp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-21 engines, but swapped three-blade propellers for four-blade units and added 26 tuned vibration absorbers and new insulation to quiet the cabin. Beechcraft built 433 C90Bs, plus 14 of a cheaper C90SE with older-style instruments and three-blade propellers. The C90GT, with stronger engines, replaced both in 2006.
Pilot's take
The C90B is a gentle airplane to fly and land, with heavy but steady controls and a cockpit where switches fall naturally to hand. Autofeather and rudder boost help if an engine quits, and the four-blade propellers lower the minimum control speed to 80 kt. The PT6A-21 engines lose power as you climb, so the airplane feels strong at low altitude and slow up high. Pilots new to turbines should treat the first 100 to 150 hours as training, and plan the fuel and payload trade on every full-cabin trip.
Who this is for
An owner-pilot stepping up from a piston twin, or a business flying regional trips with one hired pilot, who wants a forgiving twin, a stand-out cabin for its size and a budget near $500,000–$700,000 a year.
Ask about this aircraft
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