Beechjet 400A

sengers, as the toilet is a certified seat, complete with belt. Turbine airplanes have come to have two personalities. One is the airplane itself. You still have to put your feet on the pedals, one hand on the wheel and one on the power, and proceed with all the right moves. In addition to that, though, you have to learn to take advantage of all the in- formation that is packed into the avionics system. The three-tube system in the Beechjet includes a pri- mary flight display for both pilots (it is a two-pilot air- plane), plus a multifunction display on the pilot's side and two control display units T-22' MARCH 1992 IIThe wing leading edges are bright and shiny and are heated with bleed air for anti-ice, with no loss of power. (COUs). The optional fourth tube would be another multifunction dis- play on the copilot's side. Everything except the first tube is optional. In demonstrating the airplane, Beech wisely begins with a session in the cockpit with power to the tubes on the panel. To just plop someone in the left seat and flyaway with no explana- tion of the workings of the avionics would be counterproductive. Collins and FlightSafety have produced videos, which would be helpful to watch before flying because they show the system in use. The primary flight display (PFO) is really neat, though if you go flying with it and haven't watched the video, it is likely that you'll spend some moments wondering exactly what is going on. The PFO includes everything you need to know to fly, though the presentations are not exactly like those on mechanical instruments. The flight director and horizontal situation indicator presentations are more or less standard. Airspeed is a verti- cal presentation on the left side, and you can see about an 80-knot spread on the scale at a time. Mach is a digital readout at the top of the airspeed scale. Altitude is on the right, in a vertical display, with 500 feet at a time visible. With increasing values, the numbers on these displays move downward. The vertical speed is below the altitude and has a digital as well as an analog readout. All the flight director and autopilot modes are annunciated on this tube, along with all selected navi- gational data. Distance to go, heading, and selected course are also presented digitally. The drift angle is shown on I \ the HSI portion, and an elec- ' tronic slip-skid indicator is at &1 the top of the flight director. The altimeter setting is shown (it flashes going through 18,000 feet to remind you to reset), and the altitude and deci- sion height or minimum descent alti- tude alert are annunciated, as is the temperature. If the PFD tube fails, the presentation can be moved to the multifunction dis- play. If everything fails, a mechanical airspeed indicator, attitude indicator, and altimeter are provided. The air data reference panel is used to set bug airspeeds, the altitude alert, and the altimeter and select various vertical speeds and profiles if desired. The altitude awareness panel is used for DH and MDA settings. The CDU keyboard is used for inputting flight plans, changing frequencies, and con- trolling the radar. The keyboard is nu- merical, similar to but not exactly like a telephone, so to input letters, as you have to do on a flight plan, you have to press two keys-first the one with the letter on it, then another to select be- tween the letters on that key. (The dif- ference between this and a telephone is that ABC is on the" I" key, where on a telephone, ABC is on the "2" key.) Someday, we are going to have full computer keyboards in airplanes. Virtually everything you need or want to know about what is going on as the flight progresses is available on one of the tubes. If you want a map, you get a map. If you want to know the fuel sta- tus, it is in there. It is just a matter of learning which buttons to press. With some basic understanding of the system and with the engines start- ed, it is time to get going. The Beechjet taxies nicely, though if you honk on the effective brakes, the passengers might think there's a cowboy at the controls. For a maximum- weight takeoff at 15° Celsius at sea level, VI is lOS, VR 115, and V2 123. Under these conditions and with no wind, the balanced field length for takeoff would be 4,290 feet. The Beechjet is quite capable of using shorter runways and can use a 3,OOO-footrunway when carrying a total of just under 4,000 pounds of fuel and payload. The speeds are electroni- cally set on the airspeed indicator, and the desired fan speed for takeoff thrust is de- termined. The takeoff itself is simple enough. The pilot flying takes the thrust up to about 80 per- cent, and then the other pilot trims it in the high 90s, as calculated. At rotation speed, the nose is brought up smart- ly but smoothly into the V-. bars on the flight director,~ and away you go. Some nose- down trimming is required as the airplane accelerates. The only thing different AOPA PilOT' T-23 • • • f!1.";~' Beechjet 400A Base price: $4,100,037, plus $61O/hr with BeechPower (see above) Price as tested: $5,158,175 with configuration changes are mini- mal. and for the average landing, the VREF speed would be between 100 and 110 knots. The landing is pleasant. It is mainly a matter of letting the slight nose-up pitching moment that comes IIThe 400A seems small when viewed from the outside, but it is spacious and roomy when you get inside. Performance Balanced field length 320kt Mach 0.78 210 kt 200 kt 165 kt III kt 3.65 hr 45,000 ft 3,000 ft 465 kt 109 kt 115 kt 123 kt 200 kt 264 kt 264-320 kt with power reduction combine with ground effect, and maybe a slight bit of back pressure on the wheel, to roll those mains onto the runway. The re- verse is very effective down to 60 knots, where the reversers are stowed. The Beechjet 400A is an interesting airplane in that it gives the appear- ance of being relatively small when viewed from the outside but spacious and roomy when you get inside. The new avionics system is capable as well as being pretty to look at, and the fly- ing qualities of the airplane are excel- lent. It is a neat and efficient package, finished with the typical Beech flair for quality. 0 VI VR V2 Vw VMO (sea level to 8,000 ft) (8,000 ft to 11,000 [t) (linear between points) (11,000 ft to 26,000 ft) MMO (above 26,000 ft) VA VFE (10 degrees) (35 degrees) VREF (14,200 Ib) Cruise speed, max Endurance, max cruise, FL430, 440 kt, w/45 min rsv at 5,000 ft Max certified altitude FAR Part 25 landing distance Airspeeds For //lore information, contact Beech Aircraft. Corporation, Box 85, Wichita, Kansas 67201; tele-# phone316/676-7111. All specifications are based on manufacll/rer's calculations. All performance figures are based on standard day, standard atmosphere, sea level, gross weight conditions unless otherwise noted. 4,290 ft Specifications Two Pratt & Whitney of Canada JT15D-5 turbofans, 2,900 Ibst ea 48.4 ft 13.9 ft 43.5 ft 24 \.4 sq ft 66.69Ib/sq ft 2.78Ib/lbst II max 20.75 ft 4.9 ft 4.8 ft 1O,3451b 16,3001b 16,I00lb 5,955 Ib 13,OOOIb 15,700lb 4,9111b Powerplants Length Height Wingspan Wing area Wing loading Power loading Seats Cabin length Cabin width Cabin height Empty weight, as tested Max ramp weight Max takeoffweight Useful load Zero fuel weight Max landing weight Fuel capacity about the use of spoilers for roll con- trol comes in trimming the airplane in roll. Because you don't want to fly around with one spoiler up a little bit, the roll trim drill is to center the con- trol wheel and then trim as necessary to keep the wings level. A Beechjet goes fastest in the high 20s and low 30s, but it is an airplane to be flown in the low 40s, where the effi- ciency is much better. The Beechjet will climb to FL430 in 32 minutes in standard temperature conditions. Two climb speeds, 220 and 250 knots, are given, with Mach 0.64 flown when it equates with either speed. At FL430, at mid-cruise weight, the Beechjet will push 440 knots on just over 1,000 pounds of fuel per hour. The fuel ca- pacity is 4,911 pounds; it uses 845 pounds climbing to FL430, so you can go that 440 knots for quite a while. The airplane can depart with full fuel. plus 1,000 pounds (including the crew). and given average trip lengths, it would seldom need to depart at maxi- mum weight. Top cruise is at FL270 and is at the Mach limit of 0.785, which equates to 465 knots at standard temperature. The fuel flow is almost 1,800 pph. The speed brakes are effective and do not cause much pitch change or rumble. As will most jets, the airplane descends quickly from those efficient cruise altitudes. It has to be slowed to no more than 250 knots at 10,000 feet on the descent and then down to 200, where approach flaps and the landing gear can be extended. Trim changes T-24' MARCH 1992