Aircraft Continues To Beat Performance Estimates In Certification Flight Testing

Beechcraft Corporation announced at the 2013 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition that Hawker/Beechjet 400 operators may now choose the Garmin G5000 flight deck as an option in the popular Hawker 400XPR upgrade program that significantly improves performance, operating cost and resale value.

Beechcraft offers the exclusive factory-designed, engineered and supported upgrade package for the Hawker/Beechjet 400. The upgrade includes several factory approved airframe modifications: superior aerodynamics of genuine Hawker winglets, the increased power of the Williams International FJ44-4A-32 engines along with optional Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 or Garmin G5000 avionics and a number of system enhancements.
 
“From the launch of this program, customers have booked all of the available slots for a factory upgrade that gives them more range, better performance and upgraded technology,” said Brian Howell, Beechcraft vice president, Aftermarket Sales and Business Development. “We’re seeing that interest grow even more as we add the G5000 option and as the program surpasses performance estimates in our ongoing flight testing. We’re beating the competition at cruise performance and our time to climb is a huge differentiator for the 400XPR.”
 
The 400XPR aircraft is superior in performance and efficiency when compared to both new aircraft offerings from other OEMs, as well as individual alterations from aircraft operators like Nextant and Flight Options. The Williams International FJ44-4A engines enable the Hawker 400XPR to climb directly to FL450 in only 19 minutes at max takeoff weight, whereas the Nextant and Flight Options modification (which uses the smaller -3A engine) requires some 70 minutes at lower altitudes before it can step climb to realize the greater efficiencies without sacrificing speed. Based on preliminary performance data, the 400XPR can fly 1,706 nautical miles with four passengers departing a 5,000-foot airport at 30°C – almost 200 miles farther than the Nextant alteration can fly.

The Garmin G5000 flight deck for the Hawker/Beechjet 400 will feature three high-resolution 12-inch flight displays, along with two touch screen display/controllers that serve as the primary crew interface for the system. The landscape-oriented flight displays have multi-pane capability that allows multiple pages to be viewed side-by-side on any of the screens. The G5000 system also features Garmin’s advanced autopilot, PBN/RNP 0.3 with LPV/APV approach capability, doppler weather radar and options for Synthetic Vision Technology (SVT), ADS-B, as well as Garmin TAS or TCAS I/II traffic solutions, offering pilots the finest in situational awareness and simplicity. The new Hawker/Beechjet 400 flight deck is estimated to provide a weight savings of 200 pounds.
 
Each component of the 400XPR upgrade program is undergoing separate certification. Certifications for the winglet component and the Williams International FJ44-4A-32 engine are pending. The Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics system upgrade is certified and installations have begun. Certification on the Garmin G5000 modification is expected in 2015.

FMI: www.beechcraft.com