AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2021 - T-16

COCKPIT ACCESS IN THE PREMIER is easier

than in most light jets thanks to a panelmounted yoke (right), as opposed to a
floor-mounted yoke. While the panel has
modern Collins Pro Line avionics, the
cockpit is less integrated than more
modern flight decks. The panel bristles with
annunciator lights that in a modern cockpit
would be managed by an engine-indicating
and crew alerting system (EICAS). Similarly,
system checks require rotating a ceilingmounted switch, as opposed to stepping
through a digital interface (far right,
bottom). One improvement for the IA over
the original Premier I is the ability for the
pilot to control the lift dump system upon
touchdown (far right, middle).

SPEC SHEET

Beechcraft Premier IA
2009 MODEL ADVERTISED PRICE: $ 1.995 MILLION

SPECIFICATIONS

PERFORMANCE

Powerplants | (2) 2,300 lbst Williams

Balanced field length | 4,650 ft

International FJ44-2A

Max range | 1,100 nm

Length | 46 ft

Max speed | 451 kt

Height | 15 ft 4 in

Max certified altitude | 41,000 ft

Wingspan | 44 ft 6 in
Seats | 2+6

All specifications are based on manu-

Cabin length | 13 ft 6 in

facturer's calculations. All performance

Cabin width | 5 ft 6 in

figures are based on standard day, stan-

Cabin height | 5 ft 5 in

dard atmosphere, sea level, gross weight

Empty weight | 8,600 lb

conditions unless otherwise noted.

Max payload | 1,400 lb
Max takeoff weight | 12,500 lb
Fuel capacity, std | 3,670 lb
Baggage capacity | 76.9 cu ft

The Premier is the only jet to carry the Beechcraft name that
was designed in-house (the Beechjet was designed and originally
built by Mitsubishi). As such, the Premier never seemed to find
its place in a family dominated by propellers.
Meanwhile, parent company Raytheon had its eye on larger jets
from about the time the first drawings emerged for the composite
Premier. Raytheon scratched that big-jet itch with the acquisition
of British Aerospace's Hawker product line, giving it instant access
to a line of midsize and super-midsize jets, again leaving the innovative Premier looking for its place in the now larger family.
Despite the identity crisis, the Premier I finally emerged in
1998 and was certificated in 2001-the fastest and most spacious
in the light jet category. But, to continue that middle school
analogy, it was sort of awkward and pimply faced. Its innovative spun carbon fiber fuselage was light and thin-walled,
making for an exceptionally wide cabin, but it was noisy inside;
outside, its composite fibers showed through the paint. The
brakes were grabby. The all-new automated lift dump system
didn't work as planned, sometimes causing hair-raising arrivals because it wouldn't activate until all three squat switches
fully compressed-so if you bounced it, you might not get the
lift dump when you needed it. The version of the Rockwell
Collins Pro Line 21 cockpit suite Beech chose was rather anemic for such a capable airplane, providing only a primary flight
display and a multifunction display. And then there's that pot
belly and pointy nose.
Beech has always focused on its cabins, knowing who pays the
bills. For the six-seat Premier it designed a whole new look-what
seemed modern and flashy at the turn of the century. But reports
from the time say it was rather garish and its design didn't utilize the interior space well, leading to a loss of height and width.
T-16 | AOPA PILOT February 2021

Beech officials took note and quickly began a series of upgrades
that coalesced in 2006 as the Premier IA. A new exterior finishing system did away with the exposed carbon fibers on the surface.
Tweaks to the braking system smoothed out ground operations.
The automation was ditched on the lift dump, giving the pilots a
simple handle on the center console to activate when needed. The
cockpit suite was upgraded to include a co-pilot PFD and a host of
other Pro Line advances, including access to georeferenced digital Jeppesen charts on the MFD and satellite weather. In the back,
overhead ductwork was reworked to increase usable height in the
cabin and to quiet the environmental system. Revamped window
surrounds and redesigned side walls increased usable width slightly.
Restyling made the interior as inviting as other Beech interiors. The
gangly preteen suddenly started to look like a prom queen.
A MODEL MATURES

As Tampa scrolled off the bottom of the moving map, I sat back to
admire this 2009 Premier IA. With only 1,682 hours on it, it is just
nicely broken in and sprinting along like a champ. Decked out with
dual flight management systems, the Jeppesen chart upgrades,
synthetic vision, WAAS, and ADS-B, it seems as modern as anything coming off the line today. The two Williams International
FJ44-2As are capable of 2,300 pounds of thrust each. At FL370
we're burning about 1,000 pounds per hour at Mach 0.75. Max
speed is Mach 0.80 or about 451 KTAS. At the max certified ceiling
of FL410, fuel burn would decrease to about 800 pph. The engines
are controlled by an electronic engine control system that has the
same capabilities as a FADEC, except instead of dual digital channels it has only one with a mechanical backup.
The Premier is 35 knots or so faster than its nearest competitor,
the Cessna Citation CJ2+. Both airplanes have max takeoff weights

AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2021

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