Hawker 4000

Development Delays

The Super Mid-size 4000 is the Largest of the Hawker Family of Bizjets. Formerly Known as the Hawker Horizon, the 4000 Has a Deliberate, Family Resemblance to the Smaller Hawker 800 Series, but is a Clean Sheet Design.

Announced Back in 1996, the 4000 Made Its First Flight on August 11 2001. However, Certification and Service Entry Was Delayed by Five Years Due to Manufacturing Difficulties With the Aircraft’s Revolutionary Composite Barrel Fuselage, Issues With Its Hydraulic and Fuel Systems, and Insufficient Lightningstrike Insulation of Electrical Components Installed in the Composite Fuselage.

Following the Implementation of a Rectification Plan, Provisional Faa Certification Was Granted in December 2004, With a Full Type Certificate Finally Awarded Last November. Despite Falling Outside the Faa’s Five Year Certification Limit for a New Part 25 Transport Category Aircraft, the Agency Gave Raytheon an Extension So It Could Complete Its 150 Hour Function and Reliability Flight Test Campaign Which Was Interrupted When the Lightning Insulation Issue Was Discovered.

With More Than 130 Orders Now in the Book for the Aircraft, Hawker Beechcraft is Confident of a Bright Future.

The Biggest Order to Date is That From European Fractional Ownership Management Company, Netjets, Which in December 2005 Ordered 50 and Then Backed This Up With a Follow-on Order for 32 in May This Year. Deliveries Were Due to Commence at Time of Writing and Will Continue Through to 2016.

Hawker Beechcraft Says It is Presently Ramping Up to Full Rate Production of 30 Aircraft Per Year From Late 2009.

Performance

Hawker Beechcraft Quotes a Time to Cruise Altitude of 37,000ft of Only 14 Minutes and a Cruise Speed at Mach 0. 82 With Eight Passengers and Full Fuel, Thanks in Part to Its De-rated Pw308a Engines, Clean Wing and Other Advanced Aerodynamics.

It Has a True 3100nm (5740km) Trans-continental Range in Both Directions With a Full Passenger Load, Can Easily Reach New Zealand and Many South Pacific Destinations From Sydney, and Singapore With One Stop.

A More Economical Cruise of Mach 0. 77 Can Stretch That Range to 3400nm (6300km).

The 4000 Has a Service Ceiling of 43,100ft, and at the Maximum Cruise of Mach 0. 84, Registers a Fuel Flow of 919kg Per Hour, Dropping Off to Only 750kg an Hour at a More Economical Mach 0. 82.

Field Performance at Sea Level and Isa is Quoted as a 1585m Takeoff Field Length at Maximum Weight, or 2437m at 5000ft Elevation. At Maximum Landing Weight, the 4000 Requires 913m With a Touch Down Speed of 128kt.

Maximum Payload for a 5300km Mission is 1135kg With 5321kg of Fuel, While a 726kg Payload Will Yield a 3130nm (5800km) Range.

Maximum Takeoff Weight is 17,917kg While Maximum Landing Weight is 15,195kg.

Description

the Hawker 4000 Fuselage is Made From a Woven Threesection Barrel of Laminated Graphite-epoxy and Honeycomb Materials, Similar to That Pioneered on the Premier I Business Jet and Now Being Introduced on a Much Larger Scale on Boeing’s 787. Final Assembly of the Fuselage Sections is Conducted at Hawker Beechcraft’s Wichita Facility, Where It is Also Mated to the More Conventional Metal Wings Which Are Manufactured by Fuji Heavy Industries in Japan.

The Rear-mounted Fadec Equipped Pw308a Turbofansdeliver 6900lb (30. 7kn) Thrust at Isa +20c, and Are Equipped With Nordam Target Thrust Reversers. The Engines Are Supported by a Tail-cone Mounted Honeywell Apu, and a Total of 6622kg of Fuel May Be Carried in the Integral Wing Tanks.

The Flightdeck Features Honeywell’s Primus Epic Avionics Suite. The Five Main Flight Displays Are 203mm X 254mm Colour Lcds.

The Flightdeck’s Consoles Are Constructed From Composites Resulting in a Lower Replaceable Part Count, and the Avionics’ Line Items Are Mounted Behind and Above the Pilot and Co-pilot Seats for Ease of Access by Engineering Staff.

The 1. 83m Tall Cabin Ceiling Allows Most Passengers to Stand Up Without the Need for a Sunken Aisle. The Cabin is 1. 97m Wide at the Hip, and There is a 2. 83m3 Pressurised Luggage Compartment in the Rear of the Cabin Which is Also Accessible From the Ground via a Hatch Just Below and Forward of the Port Engine Intake.

Seating Configurations Are Available for Up to 12 Passengers, Although Eight is Typically Specified in a Double- Club Layout. The Toilet Seat Has a Padded Cover and Seat Belt and is Fully Certified for Use During Take Off and Landing.

Local Prospects

the Hawker 4000 Can Most Logically Be Compared to the Bombardier Challenger 300 and Gulfstream’s G200 in Terms of Size and Payload, Hawker Although Hawker Beechcraft is Quick to Point Out the Advantages Its Aircraft Has Over the Competition. “the 4000 Probably Goes Headto- Head With the Challenger 300, but Has a Huge Advantage in Terms of Its Payload Range,” Hawker Pacific’s Senior Vice President, Aircraft Sale Group, Tony Jones Told Aa. “it Also Has Higher Levels of Standard Equipment and Tremendous Cabin Appeal. It Comes Very Well Equipped at a High End, Whereas Other Aircraft Will Need to Be Spec’d Up to Match It. ” “then You Go Up to Some of the Slightly Larger Aircraft,” He Added. “we Think the 4000 Can Probably Do About 90 Per Cent of the Missions of the Larger Aircraft, So We See Some of Our Sales Nibbling Away at Aircraft Such as the Larger Challengers and the Gulfstream G450. ” Jones Says a Hawker 4000 Equipped With an Eight Seat Club Layout for Delivery in Late 2008 Will Cost in the Region of Us$21m (a$23. 6m), and That He Has Several Sales Prospects in the Region With the First Aircraft Due to Be Delivered to a New Zealand Customer Next May. “we’ve Got One Sold in New Zealand, and Quite Keen Interest in Australia and South East Asia for the Aircraft as Well,” He Said. “it Really Seems to Nicely Meet a Lot of the Regional Range Requirements. ” Although He Couldn’t Be Specific, He Said Corporate and Individual Customers Were Looking Closely at the 4000, and That He Expects to See Some Orders Placed “in the Very Near Future. ” O