Beechjet 400A Drivers

[#1 FLAMED OUT]

Curious what current drivers have thought about this airplane. Seems to be a nice airplane with a nice avionics package.
Also-----

What is the 1, 2, 3 rd Hourly Burn? What is the range in miles and duration?

Did it take a while to get used to the speed tape and altimiter tape?

Ever have any maint issues with the bird?

Thanks in advance

 

[capt_zman]

The beechjet is a average to good airplane. Very good cabin for it's size and great avionics are it's strongpoints. Range is pretty decent if you can get it up to altitude quickly (390 to 410 and step to 430). With the 16,300 MTOW kit, it really helped with the usability of the airplane.

Negative points are the spoilerons, which make it very tricky to land in a medium to strong crosswind. Spoilerons also provide a somewhat trucklike/heavy roll capability. Another negative is the horizontal stab electric heat (these are always a maintenance problem it seems like), roll, rudder and stabilizer trim are electric (no trim manual wheel) and always seem to be broken or have uncommanded runaways (also has been the culprit of a few burning smells in the cockpit).

MX is a big deal with these airplanes it seems. Always seems like something is broken or needs to be fixed, that's why it's called the BBJ (broken beech jet).

As for fuel flows, 1600 the 1st hour, 1000 for 2nd, and 900 for the 3rd and 4th hour, all at mach .76 to .77. The numbers I use on fltplan.com and they come out almost exactly for me with the profiles I use (mostly at FL370 to 410). It can be pretty miserly at 430. We typically do east to west coast with one stop in Grand Island, NE. So range works out to be about 1300-1400 nm and anywhere from 3.3 to 3.9 hours, depending on altitude and power settings.

The Collins ProLine 4 and the AMS-5000 is great. Very capable avionics package. Best part of the entire airplane.

Overall, the plane is average to good. The only reason it is not a good airplane is the mx, which can be frustrating at times.

Z-

 

[BoilerUP]

Curious what current drivers have thought about this airplane. Seems to be a nice airplane with a nice avionics package.
Also-----

Pro Line 4 and AMS-5000 are excellent avionics. It is fairly intuitive with a little practice and computer familiarity.

What is the 1, 2, 3 rd Hourly Burn? What is the range in miles and duration?

The numbers mentioned here are similar to what I use. We take ours LAF-SAN a few times a year and anytime we go to the west coast we stop in Pueblo for fuel.

Did it take a while to get used to the speed tape and altimiter tape?

If you have never flown glass, it could be a bit of a transition to get used to it, but it is VERY easy once you get the hang of it and very intuitive. The speed trend tape is probably the best feature, IMO. My background has been mostly CFIing and flying light twins, and the transition wasn't a problem. The biggest thing I had struggled with initially was flying raw-data approaches (trying to figure out where to get all my LOC/GS info from). If you use the FD, its a piece of cake.

Ever have any maint issues with the bird?

We had a trim problem a couple weeks ago, along with a wisp of smoke in the cockpit. We also have had a problem with the TRs developing small cracks, so those are looked at during the postflight walkaround.

I don't have a whole lot of time in type, but these are my observations as a noob SIC. Hope it helps...

 

[400A]

400a

I have to disagree with others assesment of reliabiliy on the Beechjet. We first operated a Diamond, and now are on our second 400A.

If you maintain the aircraft properly, and at the right shops, you can enjoy the 99% dispatch reliability that we have had 5 years in a row. That includes 400-500 hours a year. We only let Raytheon FTY maintain out aircraft. I do not agree with the opinion of something always being broken. I have found the beechjet to be every bit as reliable as King Airs or Citations.

I have found the aircraft to be very capeable in a cross wind. (I have done as high as 32 knots direct cross) rudder was on the floor though, and a little roll trim helped. I dont notice the spoiler issues as long as it is rigged well. Poorly rigged, it does fly like crap. Dont rock the wheel back and forth though, you are killing lift each time you do that, and can increase your sink rate.

ATC handles it better than Citations do to its speed capabilities.

Tail Heat is grumpy. Never had a problem on the Diamond, but when Raytheon had to make it "BETTER", then it became a weak point.

Great cabin. Passengers love it. Rides very well in turbulance. Built like a battleship. Much more solid than Citations.

Feel free to PM me if you need any more info.

400A

 

[capt_zman]

Not quite sure what, "if properly maintained" and "spoilers rigged well", means, but I can assure you that the (5) beechjets that I am associated with are extremely well maintained and cared for (Raytheon, Jet Aviation and our own dedicated 4 mechanics). All are above RK-250 and (2) above RK-330, all of which still on warranty.

Here's a list of items that I've had go wrong in those (5) beechjets:
roll trim runaways, rudder trim actuator failure, faulty takeoff trim warnings, double generator failure twice, gcu failure, AOA failure, outflow valves failing, potable water tank exploding, hstab deice fail, itt gauge failure, standby attitude failure, standby battery failure, mfd failure, stuck/broken entry door, landing light motor failure, autopilot trim failure, reversers not stowing, igniter failure, 4 or 5 starter generator failures, windshield heater failure, trunk fuel transfer pump failure, AHRS failure and efc failures.

Now spread across a sampling of 5 different airplanes by 2 different operators, I'd say that the Beechjet has some issues. The biggest issue of all, is that most of those items above are intermittent and virtually impossible to track down.

Also, compared with the other airplane I fly regularly (800XP), there is absolutely no comparison between the two in terms of reliability. I have never had to cancel a trip on the Hawker, whereas I've had to either cancel or switch airplanes on 4 different occasions over a 3 year span.

Also, compare the beechjet to a hawker in a crosswind, and you'll see what a chore the beechjet is in a crosswind. The spoilers are such a distinct disadvantage as compared to ailerons. Personally, after over 1000 hours in the beechjet, I'd be scared of a 32 knot crosswind with the rudder pegged to floor, especially since my Simuflite checklist says 25 knot max demonstrated crosswind for takeoffs and landings.

Ask some seasoned Flight Options guys what they think of it.

 

[400A]

was not an attack Z

Z- that was not a personal attack on you or your department,

First of all, the 25 knots listed in your checklist is "Demonstrated" it is not a limitation. As I said before, rigging is key. If the spoilers stand up to much, the aircraft is slow and prone to control buzz. When they are tucked down to tight, the aircraft is very sloppy at slow speeds. I stand by my pevious comments.

As for Flight options crews. I can see how they would feel that way. I am very familiar with there maintenance practices, and it stinks. They are not well maintained. I witness this on a daily basis. Just the other day I saw a crew being forced to fly with a 50 degree temp split on freash overhauls. 50 degrees is HUGE in JT-15D-5's. This also shows up in the hawkers at options as well. We fly charter support for them, and I have bailed out as many hawkers as I have beechjets.

I am Glad you are so happy with your 800XP. Its a nice aircraft if you dont need to carry any luggage, do any hot and high operations or want all of your passengers to have their own seat where no one has to climb over them to get to the lav. I know of a operation that almost gave one back... 3 Emergency landings in one week. and it was with veteran hawker drivers.

Any aircraft can have problems. I put my two cents in because you spoke for the whole fleet. My experience, and may of my friends has been very positive in the beechjet. So again I disagree with your assesment of reliability. I have no clue what is causing all the problems on your aircraft, but if I was having that many problems, I would have my local factory tech rep by the gonads. I dont know for sure what part of the counrty you are in, but if it is in the northeast, I am not impressed with Raytheon or Jet in that part of the country. Time and Time again I watch RAS-FTY fix things that no one else can. There are two paticular crew leads there that are best, If they cant fix it, you got a lemon. It can happen, I had a Lemon brand new King Air 200.

 

[Elangindonesia]

400a

I have to disagree with others assesment of reliabiliy on the Beechjet. We first operated a Diamond, and now are on our second 400A.

If you maintain the aircraft properly, and at the right shops, you can enjoy the 99% dispatch reliability that we have had 5 years in a row. That includes 400-500 hours a year. We only let Raytheon FTY maintain out aircraft. I do not agree with the opinion of something always being broken. I have found the beechjet to be every bit as reliable as King Airs or Citations.

I have found the aircraft to be very capeable in a cross wind. (I have done as high as 32 knots direct cross) rudder was on the floor though, and a little roll trim helped. I dont notice the spoiler issues as long as it is rigged well. Poorly rigged, it does fly like crap. Dont rock the wheel back and forth though, you are killing lift each time you do that, and can increase your sink rate.

ATC handles it better than Citations do to its speed capabilities.

Tail Heat is grumpy. Never had a problem on the Diamond, but when Raytheon had to make it "BETTER", then it became a weak point.

Great cabin. Passengers love it. Rides very well in turbulance. Built like a battleship. Much more solid than Citations.

Feel free to PM me if you need any more info.

400A

 

[Elangindonesia]

Great info. Thank you I owned 3 Hawker 400A