Hawker 900XP vs. Sovereign

[400A]

Both are FAR part 25.

 

[jonjuan]

So... You endorse regulation infraction and VERY dangerous operations? Does YOUR boss know this? But yes, I have explained it to my boss in great detail.

Lmfao...so flying above 410 constitutes VERY dangerous operations (for a 450 airplane) in your world? Are you sure you aren't flying a king air?

 

[400A]

Lmfao...so flying above 410 constitutes VERY dangerous operations (for a 450 airplane) in your world? Are you sure you aren't flying a king air?

With out a mask. Yes it does! Thus the regulation. Are you even familiar with the regs? Useful conscience at FL450? Ever had explosive decompression?

Not scared at all. Just smart enough follow the rules.

 

[Willy21]

I have over 1,000 hrs in both. I like them both for different reasons. If you are doing pure hawker trips (6 people or less, light on the bags, airports with runways greater than 6,000and a low field elevation) stay with the hawker. If you want to carry 8+ into short fields, mountain airports, with a lot of bags and not have to make a fuel stop, go with the Sovereign. I would also be watching the Hawker Beech ch 11 process closely. That might give you an easy answer.

I am very interested in avionics comparison (I love pro line 21), You will not like the Honeywell. It is a capable system with good displays but Cessna can't seem to make it work.

Flight deck comfort comparison In my opinion there is little difference. The seats in the Sovereign are better

realistic range WITHOUT extended periods over FL410 in the 680. the airplane seems to be happiest between FL410 and FL430. That is where the fuel burn drops off without a big drop off in performance. FL410 from the west coast to east coast with alt fuel no problem. From East to west you it will be hard to do. My longest leg in distance was SMO to BHB. Longest leg in time JAX to BFI, 5:50. All of this was done at .78 -.80

Also, is the Sovereign's ride any better than the Excel? It is better than the excellent but it is not a Hawker ride.

Any pure Sovereign info is welcome. the Sovereign does not hand fly like the hawker. In my opinion the differences will be seen from the people in back. You can comfortably put 8 or 9 in the back and not have to climb over legs to get to the lav. You will never have to worry about field length and second segment climb like you do in the Hawker. No value of D chart is a plus for me. Baggage space is plentiful. This can be a good and bad thing for the pilots. I am very familiar with the Hawker.

 

[400A]

I have over 1,000 hrs in both. I like them both for different reasons. If you are doing pure hawker trips (6 people or less, light on the bags, airports with runways greater than 6,000and a low field elevation) stay with the hawker. If you want to carry 8+ into short fields, mountain airports, with a lot of bags and not have to make a fuel stop, go with the Sovereign. I would also be watching the Hawker Beech ch 11 process closely. That might give you an easy answer.

Thanks for the outstanding reply reply Willy. That is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. Going to see the Sovereign at the Cessna plant while I am in recurrent next week.

How is the A/C up front? Hawker is the only plane I have yet to be hot up front in. Noise level? Thanks again!

 

[Willy21]

The Sovereign has a max cool switch on the apu. It is loud outside ( high pitched whine) but blows cold air quickly. It works well and lasts a long time. When it gets hot I use that up to 10,000. As a side note, I have yet to see the wild Hawker pressurization bumps on takeoff or when you change power settings.

As for noise, the door has two seals. One is a normal everyday door seal. The other is an acoustical seal that inflates during left engine start. It sounds like somebody is blowing up a thick rubber balloon. (You will really notice it and if you go with the Sovereign you may want to let your owner know that this is normal.) To me the cabin seems fairly quiet, ie. no complaints from the back.

 

[Bleeds On]

The big negative for the 680 was the need to pull it way back for LRC. 388kts according to Conklin. That and a cabin like the Excel. Disclaimer...I have no direct experience with the 680, just what the books told me when shopping.

 

[400A]

The big negative for the 680 was the need to pull it way back for LRC. 388kts according to Conklin. That and a cabin like the Excel. Disclaimer...I have no direct experience with the 680, just what the books told me when shopping.

Much bigger cabin than the Excel. The 2800 mile range is quoted at HSC not LRC. 388 sounds like an Excel number to me.

 

[Bleeds On]

Much bigger cabin than the Excel. The 2800 mile range is quoted at HSC not LRC. 388 sounds like an Excel number to me.

Bigger cabin as in longer. Straight out of Conklin..."Cruise: Normal-459, Long Range - 388" All I can tell ya.

 

[sshrae]

I have not flown the hawker but I have time in the sovereign and I can tell you that it is a very well performing airplane. Flying it at 410 would be considered a fairly low cruising altitude. The numbers work out a little better at 430, 450, but 470 it flies poorly. It is a great short strip and mountain airplane. You can fly into 4000' strips and operate out of ASE with a good load any day and fly to New York, I don't know too many airplanes that can do that. On the negative side, the primus/epic honeywell avionics have quite a few glitches, I have always preffered collins. Also, because of the long straighter wing you feel turbulence pretty bad sometimes.