Speeding along at 0.83 Mach up at FL 450 from Wichita to
Orlando with five passengers aboard, we glanced down at the fuel flows and did
a double take. The Hawker 4000 (née Hawker Horizon) we were flying was burning
1,850 pph, about what you'd expect to see on the gauges of a Hawker 800XP
cruising in the high 30s at 0.78 Mach. Then we swapped seats with the safety
pilot in the cabin and checked interior sound levels.
Could this be a composite aircraft, we asked? This cabin was
quieter than some heavy-iron business jets in which we've flown. Sound levels
at this speed registered less than 72 dB, lower even than the Dassault Falcon
2000. If we had slowed down to long-range cruise, the sound level would have
dropped to 69.4 dB, according to Brad Hatt, president and general manager of
Raytheon's Hawker Business unit. And these noise levels will drop even more,
once new engine isolator mounts are installed and small wind leaks around the
over-wing emergency exit are sealed. We know of no other super-midsize jet having
a lower cabin noise level.
The Hawker 4000 may be five years late in joining the
super-midsize race, but it's hardly the dark horse in the field. It's not only
fast, fuel-efficient and quiet, it also has class-leading airport performance.
And, Raytheon now offers unsurpassed product support because of the efforts of
Ed Dolanski's team.
The final runway performance numbers have been computed.
Whoops. Raytheon's engineers were 10% off in their estimates. Departing at
MTOW, the aircraft needs only 4,509 ft of runway, assuming sea-level, standard
day conditions. Leaving B&CA's 5,000 ft elevation, ISA+20 degree airport,
only 6,720 ft of runway is needed.
Want two extreme examples? Hatt claims the Hawker 4000 can
depart Aspen on a 32°C/90°F day and fly six passengers to Westchester County at
0.82 Mach. It can also leave Hilton Head on a 33 degree C/92 degree day and fly
six passengers to San Francisco at 0.82 Mach. Hatt invites comparisons to other
super-midsize aircraft. The Hawker 4000 actually needs less runway for a 600-nmi
trip than the sprightly Citation Sovereign, assuming standard day conditions.
"This aircraft has absolutely game-changing performance,"
Hatt said. Raytheon is so pleased with the aircraft's performance that his team
changed the name from Horizon to 4000 because they intend to base a whole new
family of aircraft around this platform. On Tuesday, he even hinted at a Hawker
4000XP.
We flew RC-5, Jack DeBoer's aircraft, twice on Sunday, first
on a standard B&CA flight evaluation profile and then with five passengers
aboard en route from Wichita to Orlando. What a treat! The Hawker 4000 is a
delight to fly, combining all the docile handling characteristics of legacy
Hawker aircraft with GIV-like systems design redundancy and sporting
performance.
"It has heavy-iron technology in a super-midsize body," Hatt
explained. It should. H. Sam Bruner, on loan from Gulfstream in the mid-1990s,
was the principal designer. Legacy Gulfstream aircraft typically have
generously sized wings and plenty of thrust. That describes the Hawker 4000.
Taxiing out to the runway, we found the steering and brakes
to be silk smooth, a considerable improvement over legacy Hawkers. We engaged
the autothrottles for takeoff and there was no suppressing the grins. Good-bye
to the Hawker's "built for comfort, not for speed" encumbrance. Gear up, flaps
up and look at nearly 6,000 fpm on the PFD's VSI. We leveled off at FL 450 in
20 minutes, including a couple of intermediate level-offs for ATC.
Too bad autopilot is required in RVSM airspace. Anyone who
likes to hand-fly airplanes won't want to relinquish control to "George." Pitch
control is precise; pitch force is moderate. Roll stability is excellent; roll
control force is perfectly harmonized. Wing performance is robust, even better
than the exception airfoil of Premier I. We could hold up to 55 degrees angle
of bank at 0.80 Mach without encountered high-speed buffet.
The Hawker 4000 also excels in the landing pattern. Pitch
and roll control forces are light, and handling is very crisp. This aircraft
upholds the highest handling quality standards of legacy Beech products. It
flies like a much smaller aircraft, such as a Baron or baby King Air. Thrust
response to throttle movement is linear and predictable. But who cares, in an
aircraft equipped with excellent auto-throttles?
Landings are as easy and smooth as when flying a G550. Long
travel, trailing-link landing gear make everyone in back think the pilot's an
ace. If short field landing performance is needed, however, better warn the
passengers. Jump on the pedals after touchdown and the brake-by-wire system
controlling the huge carbon brakes will pull this puppy down to a stop in less
than 2,500 ft.
See the Hawker 4000 we flew out at the static display. Visit
Hatt's Raytheon Hawker Business team at Booth 5098. And for the full pilot
report on the Hawker 4000, watch for the December issue of Business &
Commercial Aviation.
