Beechcraft 1900 variant
Beechcraft 1900 1900C
The first true production version: the aft airstair was deleted and replaced by an enlarged cargo door. Seventy-four aircraft in the UB series, with bladder fuel tanks in the wings.
- 74
- Units built
- 1,469 km
- Range
- 19
- Passengers
History
One door fewer, one door bigger
The lesson of the original 1900 was applied at once. Beechcraft kept the forward airstair, deleted the aft one and used the space for a much larger cargo door — a change that made the aircraft a credible combi transport without touching anything else in the airframe. Apart from the door layout, early 1900Cs were substantially the same as the initial model and shared its certification under SFAR 41C.
These aircraft carried UB serial number prefixes and seventy-four were built, many of them still flying. Like the first three airframes, they used bladder-type fuel tanks housed in the wings.
Freight, military work and corporate flying
The 1900C opened up the markets that later sustained the model: light freight, military service — Raytheon built six aircraft for the US armed forces, with UD serial numbers, designated C-12J — and corporate flying, sold as the King Air ExecLiner. In July 2018 one hundred and fourteen 1900Cs were still in airline service.