Hawker Horizon exceeds performance estimates

Raytheon Aircraft’s Hawker Horizon super-midsize business jet is beating projections–performance projections, that is. Schedule projections continue to be something else, as the new jet moves slowly but surely closer to certification, now planned for the middle of next year, with initial deliveries targeted to start by the end of the year. The delays in the program–the aircraft was originally scheduled for certification in 2001–are explained by Raytheon Aircraft as the “normal trials and tribulations” of a completely new design and the complexity of its integrated avionics.
“It’s a complicated airplane,” conceded Hawker division president Brad Hatt. But a joy to fly, in his opinion. Hatt said Raytheon wants to ensure that when deliveries start, the airplane will have no quality kinks.

The program has completed 50 percent of flight tests, amassing more than 700 hours on three test aircraft. FAA flight tests were set to begin at the end of last month. “The Hawker Horizon is proving its design in flight test and exceeding estimates in critical areas,” according to Raytheon. The company says the airplane is exceeding those estimates in the following areas:

Range–The estimate for six passengers at high-speed cruise of Mach 0.82 is 3,100 nm. Current testing shows the airplane will fly 3,147 nm under these conditions.
Takeoff field length–The Horizon’s stall characteristics, which affect takeoff field length, are about four knots less than originally projected. The guarantee is 5,250 feet. But based on testing to date, the current estimate is 4,900 feet.
Climb performance–The Horizon is providing better than expected performance, with an anticipated climb from sea level to FL370 in just over 13 minutes, as opposed to the 15 minutes originally estimated.

The outlook for the Horizon program is optimistic and seems assured, although the company has been saying “30 plus” for months when asked what the order book is. The outlook for the midsize Hawker 450 is not so positive. In May, Raytheon said it was on the “back burner.” Last month Hatt said, “Due to the economy, the company has decided not to proceed” with the 450. When that airplane was introduced, at the NBAA Convention in 2000, Raytheon Aircraft said it had orders for 97 airplanes, 50 of them from the Raytheon Travel Air fractional-ownership program, which merged with Flight Options last year.

Hatt claimed the company’s financial investment in the Hawker 450 was not significant, but he declined to provide actual figures.