Waco, Texas-based aftermarket manufacturer CenTex Aerospace has received FAA approval for a 14,000-pound maximum takeoff weight for Beechcraft King Air 200, A200 and B200 series airplanes with high flotation landing gear. Dubbed the Halo 275 conversion, the 1,500-pound mtow increase includes a 1,000-pound gain in the maximum landing weight and, for model year 1993 and later, a 500-pound rise in the maximum zero fuel weight. 

As a result of its certification in the Part 23 commuter category, the Halo 275 conversion adds five safety systems: an engine fire extinguisher, elevator trim warning, over-speed warning, emergency cabin lighting and an ice mode for the stall warning system. These new systems increase the empty weight by 80 pounds. Overall, the net payload increase can equate to eight 170-pound passengers with 60 pounds left over for baggage or another 1,420 pounds of cargo or fuel.

According to CenTex, a fully fueled King Air 200 with the Halo 275 conversion can fly 1,900 nm (zero wind, 45 minute reserve) while carrying a pilot and nine passengers. To fly that far in a standard King Air 200, it would have to leave behind eight of the nine passengers.