The first Hawker Horizon is taking shape; the first two Premiers fly together; a third has now joined the flight-test program.

Tookes will help Raytheon ramp up to production of 60 (from a planned 48) of its new Premier I and 36 (from a planned 24) of its new Hawker Horizon jets per year. More than 200 Premier I aircraft are on order, and 150 Horizons, counting options.

Perhaps more important to current Raytheon aircraft operators, the company's here with a new service plan for support of its various aircraft. And it's regaling NBAA with a recently beefed-up fractional ownership programRaytheon Travel Air.

Raytheon customer support VP Scott Kalister has been making industry rounds to talk up the company's new "Customer Imperative," described as a strategic initiative to provide "seamless and hassle-free" serviceservice good enough "to be a key reason customers buy our aircraft." Parts delivery is a big part of the package, as Raytheon's relocated a key warehouse to the Dallas-Fort Worth airport and has partnered with Ryder for deliveries.

Raytheon's making increasing use of the Internet to help coordinate aircraft maintenance and technical support too.

On the fractionals side, Raytheon said late this past summer that its Raytheon Travel Air unit has ordered 27 new Hawker Horizons, stating that the fractional operation "will require $1.5 billion worth of new aircraft in the coming years, including the 27 Hawker Horizons valued at approximately $425 million." The Travel Air Horizons will enter service in 2002.
Two-year-old Travel Air currently has 15 Hawker 800XPs, 22 Beechjet 400As and King Air B200s for a total of 47 aircraft. It has more than 220 pilots, 330 employees and 300 aircraft shareowners. It expects by year-end to have 56 aircraft and upwards of 250 pilots, 375 employees and 400 shareowners.

Travel Air will log more than 44,000 flight hours in 1999.

In addition to the 27 new Horizons, Travel Air has ordered, for delivery over the next five years, 49 Premier I jets, 55 Hawker 800XPs, 45 Beechjet 400As, and 23 King Air B200s.
Raytheon's new aircraft emphasis here is on the Premier I and Hawker Horizon business jets, both of which have been designed for maximum interior cabin space with thin-wall composite fuselages made via an advanced fiber placement process. Both aircraft have aluminum wings.

The Premier I is a single-pilot, six- to seven-passenger jet priced at $4.526 million. Its cabin is said to be 7 inches wider than the competing CitationJet. A third test aircraft began flying last month. Premier I certification is expected at the end of this year. Duncan Koerbel is Premier I business unit director.

The Hawker Horizon is a super-midsized jet for which Raytheon promises "intercontinental performance and high speed without compromises in payload." Maximum cruise speed is to be .84 Mach and maximum range will be 3,400 nmi. Executive Jet placed an order for 100 Hawker Horizons this past summer (50 firm and 50 options).

The Hawker Horizon is priced at $15.838 million. Deliveries will start in 2001. Tom Reichenberger is Horizon business unit director.

Hansel Tookes took over as Raytheon Aircraft president and COO on September 27. He reports to Art Wegner, the Raytheon Corp executive VP who is Raytheon Aircraft's chairman and CEO. The plan as outlined last month is for Tookes to become Raytheon Aircraft CEO in six months, and to take over as chairman "following Wegner's planned retirement in approximately a year."

Raytheon delivered 395 aircraft in 1998: 48 Hawker 800XPs, 43 Beechjet 400As, 45 1900D Airliners, 124 King Airs, and 135 Barons/Bonanzas. Deliveries totaled 160 through the second quarter of this year.