Raytheon plans to mate the fuselage and wing of its Hawker Horizon super mid-size business jet in November in preparation for the aircraft's roll-out at the end of the year.
Fuselage and tail mating of the first prototype is under way at the Wichita, Kansas, factory, while the wing and PW308A turbofans have been delivered from suppliers Fuji Heavy Industries of Japan and Pratt & Whitney Canada, respectively. Frank Howell, Raytheon's product manager for jet sales, says: "The first flight of the [$15.8 million] Horizon is scheduled for the first quarter of next year. We anticipate a 19-month flight test programme with US certification lined up for late 2002."
Raytheon's original plan called for approval in the second quarter of 2001, but the company admits its manpower has been concentrated on obtaining the long-awaited certification of its Premier I entry-level business jet, which is expected "within weeks". Raytheon says: "The Premier I has been our immediate priority, since we were originally hoping to receive certification for the aircraft last year."
Raytheon blames the delay partly on a redesign earlier this year of the Premier's flight controls, to prevent an engine rotor burst severing the links to the elevator and rudder. It has also been delayed in trying to obtain icing certification. "We are planning to deliver the first aircraft without icing certification, which we hope to gain once suitable [weather] conditions can be found," the company says.
Delays to the Premier I, for which it has more than 250 orders, have also pushed back Raytheon's choice of replacement avionics supplier for its Hawker 800XP mid-size jet. The company is evaluating the Rockwell Collins ProLine 21 electronic flight instrument system, standard on the Premier I, and Honeywell's Primus Epic, selected for the Horizon, to succeed the standard Honeywell SPZ-8000 system.
Source: Flight International
