B/CA Show News - NBAA 2007 Day 1 - (Page 110) N B A A 2 0 07 We Bring the Hawker 900XP to NBAA “Good afternoon Kansas City, Hawker 903XP level 410,” radioed Mark Mills, senior sales demonstration pilot, as we flew from Wichita Beech Field to Atlanta Fulton County last Saturday—where we would park the new Hawker 900XP for this week’s NBAA static display. The clock indicated 21 minutes after takeoff. The outside air temperate was 32 degrees C when we departed and, during the eastbound climb, the OAT didn’t cool down below ISA+10 degrees C until we reached the high twenties. That’s why we almost did a double-take when we checked the time at top-of-climb. Granted, the aircraft weighed a svelte 22,800 lb at lift-off, but we were flying a stately Hawker, a midsize jet whose ancestors date back to the early 1960s. Equipped with Honeywell’s new TFE731-50 turbofans, though, this quintessentially British matron of the airways has been transformed into a rather agile performer compared to its forbears. Although its Citation. We flew approaches to stalls in clean, approach flap and landing configurations. We initiated stall recovery at the onset of stall-warning still shaker and the aircraft flew out of each maneuver with virtually no altitude loss and certainly no loss of composure. We also practiced a simulated one-engine-inoperative takeoff at Wichita and returned for a simulated OEI landing. The Hawker’s rudder bias system reduces rudder pedal pressure required to keep the aircraft in balanced flight to less than 50 lb at takeoff rated thrust, so it’s one of the easier aircraft to control during such maneuvers. Reduced fuel consumption lowers the direct operating costs of the new Hawker, but there are other operating cost savings as well. Maintenance intervals for the -50R engines increase to 3,000 hrs for MPI and 6,000 hrs for MPI, up from 2,100 and 4,200 hours for the Hawker 850XP’s -5BR powerplants. MSP rates go down to $153.03 per engine from $171.32, according to Honeywell officials. And HID landing, taxi and recognition lights and LED position lights have 5,000 hr MBTFs. Hawker 850XP’s very capable Pro Line 21 avionics suite is carried over into the Hawker 900XP. The standard package comes with a single file server that provides electronic charts, enhanced map graphics and provisions for XM radio weather. An optional second file server allows flight crews to go paperless. Look for the full story on the Hawker 900XP in the November issue of B/CA. —Fred George Our man Fred George (left) with Hawker Beechcraft sales demo pilot Mark Mills. .70 Mach, equivalent to 402 KTAS in ISA conditions. High-speed cruise is .77 to .80 Mach, resulting in a 2,307 nm NBAA IFR range with the same 1,200 lb payload. So, plan using HSC on west coast-toeast coast transcontinental US trips when you are more likely to encounter more favorable winds. Level at FL 410, we logged “The Hawker 900XP’s improved hotand-high takeoff performance also pays dividends when departing sea level airports because of its sprightlier runway performance.” —Fred George, B/CA Pilot and Former Naval Aviator airframe is virtually identical to the Hawker 850XP, the latest iteration of the HS125 can fly 200 nm farther because its new engines provide considerably quicker time climbs, 1,000- to 2,000-ft higher initial cruise altitudes, and up to 7% more range out of each pound of fuel in cruise. Notably, the new engines add less than 90 lb to aircraft empty weight. The 900XP now can fly six passengers 2,790 nm, range enough to fly from White Plains to San Diego against 99% probable winds, Hawker Beechcraft says. But, that trip will take seven-plus hours because Hawker 900XP’s longrange cruise speed remains 110 .772 Mach in cruise with a fuel burn 1,430 pph in ISA-2 degree C conditions at a weight of 21,900 lb, thereby verifying the manufacturer’s claims. Our flight plan time from Wichita to Atlanta was one hour 41 minutes. It was difficult to make a direct comparison with the Hawker 850XP because it wouldn’t have been able to accelerate to .77 Mach under the same conditions. Block cruise speeds for the Hawker 900XP aren’t a lot quicker than those of the Hawker 850XP because its aerodynamics are virtually unchanged, except for minor engine nacelle changes. But hotand-high airport performance is much improved, resulting in con- siderably better range and payload flexibility. You can depart Aspen on a 28 degree C day with six passengers, for instance, and fly 1,663 nm. Hawker 850XP, in contrast, only could fly six passengers 1,205 nm departing on the same day. That’s because the new aircraft’s -50R engines are flat-rated to 4,660 lb thrust to ISA+17 degrees C. The Hawker 850XP’s -5BR turbofans are flat-rated at the same thrust to ISA+12 degrees C. The Hawker 900XP’s improved hot-and-high takeoff performance also pays dividends when departing sea level airports because of its sprightlier runway performance. You can depart Hilton Head’s 4,300 ft runway on an ISA+15 degree C day with six passengers and fly to Grand Junction, CO. That’s a 360 nm improvement compared to Hawker 850XP. In work-a-day operations, Hawker 900XP is one of the nicest handling aircraft we’ve flown. It’s nearly as docile as a straight-wing N903XP following its BEC-FTY flight this past Saturday. September 25, 2007 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews
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