Hawker Beechcraft will deliver four King Air C90GTi aircraft to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to support its flight standards flight programme.

The ASIs will use the King Airs to assess the currency and proficiency of pilots.

The programme directly supports over 600 aviation safety operations inspectors (ASIs) in their duty to ensure flights within National Air Space operate at the highest level of safety and within regulatory requirements.

The twin-turbine aircraft with mid-size jet avionics will also be used to support disaster relief and emergency response operations within the FAA.

The advanced capabilities of the C90GTi include a multisensor flight management system that utilises several aircraft position inputs, solid state weather radar and a Rockwell Collins automated chart selection system.

The contract has options for two additional aircraft and deliveries will be carried out over 2010 and 2011.