Raytheon Is Delivering on Premier I As the Horizon Makes Its First Flight

After much trial and tribulation and extended delays, Raytheon Aircraft now has its two composite-fuselage business jets up and flying. The Premier I is certified and deliveries to customers are under way, while the Hawker Horizon super-midsize jet flew for the first time on Aug. 11.

Raytheon Premier I

The delays in the Premier I's certification have finally ended, and on March 23, 2001--well over a year after Raytheon announced that final FAA approval was "imminent"--the Premier I received its FAR Part 23 approval. Production certification followed in April, and in June the first aircraft (ship number 4) was handed over to launch customer Troy Eaden.

Raytheon expects to deliver 36 aircraft before year's end, with seven Premier Is already in customer hands. Raytheon Aircraft Company's VP engineering, Tom Sarama, described the functionality and reliability flight testing that preceded certification as "flawless--the aircraft flew wonderfully throughout," but Sarama says that his team is still dealing with "ongoing R&D" to get the aircraft up to the standard they desire.

"There are still some improvements to be made in the Premier I's cabin comfort, takeoff field length and range performance. We will meet our minimum guarantees for range and speed. Performance-wise, right now this aircraft goes like a bat out of hell," he adds.

Raytheon Hawker Horizon

The Horizon super-midsize business jet has been an even more troubled program for Raytheon than the Premier I. "Difficult" is the word used by Tom Sarama to describe the way things have been going. A first flight date in 1999 was once projected for the Horizon, but the first aircraft did not make its maiden flight until 11 August, 2001.

Raytheon's hopes for the Horizon have always been ambitious, and integrating the host of new technology that the jet features proved far more time-consuming than anyone expected. When Sarama took over his new position at Raytheon in September 2000, he launched a major effort to "re-energize" the Horizon team and the supplier base.

Sarama identified some of the problems, or "engineering projects" as he prefers to call them, that have stood in his way. "If you look at the technology that Raytheon is introducing at this price-point, it's never been done before. It demanded some sophisticated project management and it posed some oversight problems. For example, take the 1.2 million lines of code that are used in our first edition of the Epic cockpit software. You can see how complex a job this is--and how it all adds time. However, that first edition of the software is doing well."

Raytheon is not specific about sales, but says "orders and options" stand at more than 150.