Sir - I read the story "Raytheon light jet will have composite fuselage" (Flight International, 5-11 July, P4).
If Raytheon believes that it is going to beat the Cessna CitationJet, it is throwing money down the drain. What Raytheon has done best is to perfect other fine designs (such as the Mitsubishi Diamond and now the Hawker).
I believe that there are three airframes, which need perfecting and, above all, need the power of Raytheon marketing. They are the Piaggio Avanti, the Swearingen SJ30 and the Dornier Seastar.
The Avanti simply has no rivals. Its aerodynamics are superb and its performance for such low cost is incredible. Several aerodynamic and systems improvements could still be made, but the biggest change must be to marketing.
The SJ30 is the only small jet, which I think can give CitationJets a run for their money. Its aerodynamics are unique and its performance is more like that of a mid- to large-class jet.
The Seastar simply needs to be reduced to a single PT6-powered aircraft, offering the same performance and capacity, and it will have a successful future in the field of commuters in many remote areas where water is still the only way to get to many islands.
With the costs involved in launching a new aircraft, and a market, which barely supports what is available, I think that Raytheon is going in the wrong direction. The Hawker 800 was well improved. I think that the 1000 should be cancelled and stretched to become a 1200, and that improved P&W engines should be added, to give it at least 7,000km (3,800nm) range.
FRANZ MANFREDI
Panama, Republic of Panama
Source: Flight International
