Speed Record

The King Air 200's T-tail

We've been flying at 17,000 feet due to CYR222 (Military restricted Airspace) that is sitting just above our heads at 18,000 feet. With almost a full load of passengers and a bit of freight our gross weight is 10940 lbs, not really near our max t/o (take off) weight of 12500 lbs due to the min required fuel on board. It's a 45 minute hop from Beauval to Saskatoon and the last for us for the day. Currently the time is 1805 local and we're 75 miles North of Saskatoon, and as I look down at the GPS it's showing me a ground speed of 301.8 knots, that's a personal best for me, exciting. With a TAS (true airspeed) of 259 knots that's a good 42 knot tail wind. I believe there is a Jet Stream (a very strong tunnel like set of winds) above us about 6,000 to 15,000 Ft, probably producing winds up to 100+ knots.