I flew them in 22/24 seat airliner configuration. With regard to unpaved strip operation, as I recall, the tyres maybe a problem. They are quite a soft compound. When landing on a wet runway they were prone to aquaplaning. If this happened a 'wedge' of water formed which would boil and melt the tread right off. Never known another aircraft to suffer from this.
Great aircraft though. Pulling the speed brake handle lowered just the main gear. Selecting gear down using EITHER of the TWO gear handles would then lower the nose gear. Very effective in a turboprop capable of 290ktas.
Likely to be very maintenance intensive these days. Very complicated series of propeller stops with eight lights on the glare shield to tell you if they were functioning. A prop runaway is a G1 pilot's worst nightmare.
Have fun with the old girl......
