PILOT REPORT

Hawker 4000 differs little with changes in for- it easier to load suitcases from After curing, the three com- million more. A Cessna Cita- that concerned me was the taxi- Specifications and Performance ward speed. The aircraft can fly outside. The 800 series required posite fuselage sections are ac- tion X has a smaller cabin (593 by-wire nosewheel steering. In Price (typically completed and equipped) $22.4 million 1,400 pounds of payload 3,190 nm the junior pilot (usually me) to tually light enough to be lifted cu ft), flies about the same dis- the sim, I was all over the place. at Mach 0.78. At Mach 0.84, the drag bags, golf clubs and skis up by a single person. Windows, tance as the 4000 and costs about As we taxied away from Signa- P&W Canada PW308A Engines (2) same aircraft will fly four people the stairs through the front door. doors and access panels are $700,000 less. (Cessna declines­ ture Flight Support’s ramp that (6,900 lbs thrust each) 2,788 nm and 3,007 nm at Mach The book says that at the cut later using a high-pressure to provide a cabin volume num- morning at our 34,000-pound Passengers (typical) 2 crew + 10 pax 0.82. Above FL400, those power maximum takeoff weight of water jet to ensure smooth ber for the stretched Ten, but weight, the steering was won- Range (w/NBAA reserves, 200-nm alternate) 3,190 nm at Mach 0.78 settings mean a high-speed cruise 39,500 pounds, the Hawker edges. Without stringers and David Wyndham at Conklin & derfully responsive aided by the High-speed cruise 482 ktas/Mach 0.84 of 482 knots and a long-range 4000 needs 5,068 feet of runway a host of other traditional de Decker calculates it to be 624 aircraft’s brake-by-wire system. speed of 447 knots true, meaning for takeoff at sea level on a 59 metal strengthening elements, cu ft.) The Falcon 2000S, with a The updated FMS calculated Long-range cruise speed 447 ktas/Mach 0.78 few operators­ will be pulling the degree F day. At more moder- the 4000 interior offers more much larger cabin (1,024 cu ft), and posted V speeds for a 12-de- Fuel capacity 14,600 lbs power back on this aircraft. ate weights such as five people useful space. Unlike metal air- costs $2.6 million more than the gree flap setting on this 14 degree C Max payload w/full fuel 1,400 lbs With a hefty 9.6-psi differen- and 10,000 pounds of fuel or craft, the composite fuselage Hawker, but will fly only about morning at V1 105, Vr 112, V2 124 tial in that composite fuselage, approximately 36,000 pounds, won’t expand, contract or cor- 200 nm farther. and Vfto 146. The book said we’d Ceiling (certified) 45,000 ft passengers will enjoy a sea-level the 4000 requires about 4,300 rode with temperature changes need about 3,900 feet of the 5,000- Cabin altitude at ceiling 6,000 ft at 45,000 ft cabin to 25,000 feet and a max- feet to become airborne for a or pressure cycles. As a result, Hawker 4000 foot Runway 16. It turned out to be Max takeoff weight 39,500 lbs imum cabin altitude of 6,000 2,000-nm trip. On a 28 degree C the airframe has no life limit. Crosswind Practice closer to just over 3,500 feet. Balanced field length at mtow feet at FL450. The big Pratt & day out of Aspen, the Hawker The 4000 could easily outlast No impressions of my Hawk- Departing PWK to the south 5,068 ft (sea level, standard) Whitney Canada PW308As– 4000 can carry six people and most of the people who can af- er 4000 flight would be complete means weaving between ORD’s Landing distance 2,475 ft with dual-channel Fadecs–each enough fuel to fly to Anchor- ford the $22.4 million price tag, without mentioning the length of 22 Right and 14 Right arrivals. deliver 6,900 pounds of thrust age; Bangor; or even Panama significantly less than many time it took to arrange the trip. We planned to keep the depar- Length 69 ft 6 in right up to ISA +22 for impres- City, Panama. On a 30 degree aircraft of a similar size. To paraphrase Vick, the flight ture speed back to 165 knots Wingspan 61 ft 9 in sive hot-and-high performance. C day the airplane can blast off Here’s a quick look at how the plan took many months, as one after departure to narrow the Height 19 ft 9 in These big Pratts need bleed from Hilton Head with six peo- Hawker 4000 (with its 762-cu-ft trip after another was canceled turn radius. To me it’s still a bit Cabin air to spin for startup though, ple and make Seattle nonstop. cabin volume) stacks up against for either an aircraft scheduling odd to push the power up on a which means an APU start the competition. The Challenger or certification issue. The morn- Hawker and have the system Volume 762 cu ft most of the time. Composite Technology 300 has a larger cabin (860 cu ft) ing HBC pilots Mark Danin (my pull the throttles up the rest of Width 6 ft 5.5 in The 89-cu-ft baggage com- The real benefit of a com- and similar performance charac- instructor) and his co-captain the way with the dual-channel Height 6 ft partment on the 4000 is accessi- posite airplane is not immedi- teristics and costs about $2 mil- Gustavo Prato arrived at Chi- Fadecs guarding the engines. ble in flight. The outside sill bag- ately apparent from the out- lion more. The Gulfstream G250 cago Executive, the gusty wind Response from the hydrauli- Length (seating area) 25 ft gage compartment is only 52.5 side, except for a complete lack has a cabin 173 cu ft larger than was about 90 degrees across the cally powered, fly-by-wire rud- Hawker 4000 Baggage capacity 108.5 cu ft total (990 lbs) inches above the ground, making of fastener bumps, of course. the Hawker’s and runs about $2 runway, which Danin later told der at our light weight was sol- After 15 years in development, this Front closets 19.5 cu ft me made him work some on that id, and through 80 knots Danin Rear closets 89 cu ft first arrival. Luckily, the wind gave me the controls already FAA certification (FAR Part 25) 11/21/2006 held off just enough to allow me cranked hard right for the wind. super-midsize delivers on its promises to take the left seat on the way With only a minor zig and a zag, Number built (through 10/4/11) 69 by Robert P. Mark out. Our plan was to depart IFR we rotated and cranked into a to the northwest toward Madi- hard left turn to avoid O’Hare. son, Wis., climbing to FL410 Then the fun began as departure First announced at the 1996 quirements. They were added matically calculated and dis- aircraft in our fleet and outper- Those redundancies include for a time-to-climb check, then stopped us first at 2,000, then NBAA Convention, the super- later by default when Hawker played takeoff data. forms a lot of other airplanes. dual air conditioning packs, try some air work and return to 3,000 and finally 4,000 feet be- midsize Hawker Horizon, the Beechcraft missed a crucial cer- Shawn Vick, HBC’s execu- It’s extremely capable. We al- dual FMS, dual IRS and a hy- KPWK for a few landings. fore pointing us west. company’s 60-percent compos- tification deadline. tive vice president, acknowledg- most never worry about opera- draulically driven generator Walking around before take- I kept the speed dialed back to ite construction business jet, The good news for HBC: the es, “The 4000 [had] an extended tions from short runways like just in case both engine units off, I had to admit it was hard 200 under the Class B airspace, made its first flight on Aug 11, FAA granted the exemptions. gestation period…and people Aspen. A New York to London and the APU generator go si- not to see a little resemblance but once we reached 4,000 feet in- 2001. It received its FAA type The bad news: they expire in underestimated the degree of trip takes about an hour-and- lent. Like its larger-aircraft to the old Hawker 800 I’d flown creased it to 250 knots. Through certificate just over five years 2014, which meant Hawker the [design and construction] a-half longer than in the GIV relatives, the 4000 employs a from this very same airport a 10,000 I let the aircraft accelerate later, on Nov. 21, 2006, with Beechcraft needed a fuel-tank challenge. But let’s not lose sight but is much less expensive.” dual-authority Honeywell au- decade earlier. But the 4000 is to about 300 knots with the rate a new name too, the Hawker fix for 40 or so 4000s flying. of the courage of conviction it When asked about Talon’s role tothrottle system. larger, with much cleaner lines. indicator pretty much pegged 4000. Raytheon, which owned HBC developed an upgrade took to launch an all-composite as a commercial early adopter, The 4000’s cabin is just under The APU was already running between 5,000 and 6,000 fpm what was to become Hawker and enhancement program to a airplane in the 1990s and tackle Kasre said, “Sure there have 6.5 feet wide and 29.5 feet long, when I walked around so I was up through 20,000 feet. Despite Beech at the 4000’s concep- number of 4000 systems to be what had not been tackled be- been growing pains [with the with a flat floor that just squeez- able to notice that the exhaust a few requests, we were able to tion, sold its ownership stake added while the aircraft were fore. Today we’re sitting here 4000], but Hawker has always es in a six-foot-tall person. The is better focused–hence quieter climb only in 2,000-foot chunks to a new partnership–Goldman opened up in Wichita anyway. with a super-midsize airplane been there for us.” Hawker 800 had similar cabin on the ground–than the horribly almost all the way through Sachs and Onex–that renamed HBC is picking up the tab, in- that is the hands-down tech- dimensions, but was eight feet noisy Hawker 800 APU. FL310, making a time-to-climb the company Hawker Beech- cluding the supplemental lift nological leader over any other Pilots and Passengers shorter. The 4000 dimensions Pilot first impressions al- calculation impossible. I hand- craft Corporation (HBC). needed for current owners, for midsize aircraft.” Will Notice translate into a cabin that can ways begin with ease of seat flew the aircraft to altitude al- Recalling Beech’s failed the 60 to 90 days the aircraft Talon Air, a Farmingdale, The Hawker 4000 bears only seat as many as 10–not includ- entry. This particular aircraft– though I let Honeywell work the Starship project, some industry is in Wichita. Bill Boisture, N.Y.-based aircraft charter, a slight resemblance to the early ing the pilots–if the potty is belt- N800MR–was a little tight power for me. I kept letting go of snoop thought 10 years from Hawker Beechcraft’s CEO, be- management and maintenance 125 series, part of the reason ed. The 4000 can carry full fuel as I slid the seat back. Danin the wheel once it was trimmed in concept to certification seemed lieves, “There is a fundamental group, operates five of the new a pilot’s certificate will include and seven passengers all day pointed to a small ledge behind various configurations and the to point to product flaws, and responsibility on the part of the aircraft. One of them, serial “RA-4000” after the check ride. long, while the tradeoff to car- each seat that restricted move- 4000 was rock steady. It’s a nice while the 4000 has not been certificate holder to do the right number RC 9, is the highest- The cryptic flight plan designa- ry eight is minimal. With a full ment some and mentioned aircraft to hand fly. without its teething problems, thing [in manufacturing].” time 4000 in the world with tor for the 4000–HA4T–is also fuel load of 14,600 pounds in they’d soon be removed. Like Through 22,000 feet and at production airplanes are roll- In addition to the fuel-tank more than 1,625 hours of flight sure to raise a few eyebrows the wings–no center tank on the some other computer systems, 280 kias, the fuel flows showed ing off the line. There was, of modifications, the enhancement time. The five Hawker 4000s from controllers until the air- 4000–the aircraft can carry eight the cursor control device under about 3,200 pph total with pow- course, the petition Raytheon works a significant upgrade to that the company operates had craft becomes better known. people just short of 3,000 nm, my left hand by the tiller made er holding about 95 percent N1 filed in May 2006, requesting the Honeywell Epic avionics, as logged a combined fleet time of Doug Davidson, Hawker’s di- making just about anywhere on selecting any of the three center and the rate settling on 2,000 additional time to meet the well as the dual-channel Fadec, 5,382.5 hours at press time. It rector of 4000 support, said the the West Coast available from screen displays, including all and 2,300 fpm. By the time we tougher Part 25 airliner certi- a new unattended mode for the has a sixth on order and hopes best way to think of the airplane almost anywhere on the east dropdown menus, pretty sim- reached FL410, the rate had fication standards, such as the APU, new landing-gear control to accept delivery before year- is “not so much like a grown- coast, except perhaps against ple with a click or two of my dropped to about 700 fpm, with new fuel-tank requirements in module and a higher-capacity end. “It’s an underestimated up business jet, but more of a intense winter westerly winds. index finger and thumb. fuel flows settling in at 2,400 The Hawker 4000 provides a roomy stand-up cabin that can accommodate as many as 10 passengers. The airplane’s composite the aftermath of the TWA 800 toilet. The Epic updates give airplane,” said Aaron Kasre, shrunk-down airliner,” referring With four passengers, the range construction affords more usable space in the cabin, making room for a 19.5-cu-ft storage closet as well as an in-flight accessible Before I flew the 4000 the pph total. Our airplane trued crash. The original Horizon pilots electronic access to ap- one of Talon’s Hawker 4000 to the aircraft’s host of big-air- is approximately 3,200 nm. 89-cu-ft baggage area. Iridium satellite telephone and the Rockwell Collins Airshow cabin management and information/ HBC folks gave me an hour in out at a shade under 480 knots ­design never included these re- proach charts, as well as auto- check airman. “It’s the busiest plane-like redundant systems. Interestingly, the 4000’s range entertainment system come standard on the airplane. the simulator, and the one item u . © Copyright 2011 AIN Publications. All Rights Reserved. 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38aAviation International News • December 2011 • www.ainonline.com www.ainonline.com • December 2011 • Aviation International Newsaa39 PILOT REPORT uContinued from preceding page back in the cabin at Mach 0.82 to and the cabin became noticeably– in the -22 degree C air. gauge the noise. It was quite pleas- to me at least–quieter. That’s the Once we accelerated to cruise ant, even near the engines. I sat only reason I can think to pull the at FL400, Danin suggested I re- in the seat by the lavatory while power back, though. I tried some The Hawker 4000 offers a range of 3,190 nm at its long-range cruise of Mach 0.78. move my Bose headset to test Gustavo sat near the galley. We 45- to 50-degree-bank steep turns the cockpit noise level. It was low had no trouble carrying on a nor- at 250 kias at FL410 and once and quite easy to communicate mal conversation, which meant a in the turn thanks to a little kick GPS 25 into Rockford, but 22 at Janesville, Wis., where with the others without shouting. mini-board meeting would work from the spoilers, the aircraft was learned on the ATIS that Run- the wind was west at 14 gusting Still, for long-term ear protection out just fine. I asked Danin to pull easily trimmed hands off. way 25 was closed so we de- 21 knots. As we began our de- I’d use the headset. I also walked the power back for Mach 0.78 We’d planned to go try the cided on an automated GPS scent, Chicago Center asked if we could give them a good rate down. Great chance to pull the speed brakes. I pulled the han- dle slowly aft and felt a slight rumble, one that I think would go unnoticed in the cabin. At 310 kias we managed a descent rate of 8,500 fpm. On downwind at 200 kias, the aircraft smoothly led the turn inbound at dacek at 3,100 feet, where we added flaps 12 and again at otlee, where we dropped flaps to 20 degrees just before lower- ing the gear. We needed to lose about 1,900 feet and planned to take the approach to minimums and execute a go-around to stay in the VFR traffic pattern. The approach with a ref speed of 121 and even the go-around using the autothrottles was a no-brainer. All I did was level off at traffic- pattern altitude. Although it was gusty down low, the Hawker 4000 handled well even just above ref. The touchdown required only a slight amount of aileron and a little push on that big Hawker rud- der as I planted the trailing-link gear on the runway. I barely had the buckets out before we were slowing. Unfortunately the wind had increased significantly above HBC crosswind minimums for a demo pilot, so this was my last approach. We turned off near the intersection of Runway 32, about 4,000 feet from the land- ing threshold, to switch seats for the trip back to PWK.

Final Thoughts Some industry cynics still call some early Hawker Beech- craft aircraft like the Starship a flop. But the company used the knowledge gained from build- ing those composite Starships to construct the Hawker 4000. No doubt this airplane’s repu- tation has stumbled in places over the years, but when the upgrade and ­improvements are completed on all the early 4000 fuselages by late next year, the industry will realize that a sig- nificant player in the market- place has arrived. With a fully functioning 4000, I’d say Hawker Beech- craft has certainly repaired its PR wounds with people who are paying close attention,

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40aaAviation International News •December 2011 • www.ainonline.com