The story of the Hawker 4000 business jet.
In November 1996, Waltham, Massachusetts-headquartered Raytheon Aircraft Company announced that it wanted to build a new business jet based on its existing nine-seat Hawker 1000. Nearly five years later, on August 11, 2001, the first Hawker 4000 super-midsize business jet made its maiden flight.
The new larger plane was intended to fly by 1999, with certification and sales planned for 2001. Delays and problems with the development delayed the prototype's maiden flight by two years. A second and third prototype was also built, making their first flights on May 10 and July 31, 2002.
In November 2002, the Hawker 4000 was revealed to the public at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) convention at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The aircraft was a hit, and by March 2007, Hawker Beechcraft (which took over the production after Raython tasked it with building Hawker and Beechcraft jets in 2006), had orders for 130 planes due to begin being delivered by June 2008. Berkshire Hathaway private jet fractional ownership company NetJets signed an order for 50 new Hawker 4000s on December 2, 2005, marking the largest ever order for aircraft in Raytheon Aircraft history.
After undergoing function and reliability tests at the McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, the company announced that the Hawker 4000 had been certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on November 21, 2006.
Because of the Hawker 4000s carbon composite structure, the aircraft offers more interior space than many of its rivals and can comfortably accommodate ten passengers. The carbon composite construction also makes the plane lighter than standard metal constructed aircraft, giving the Hawker 4000 a range of 3,445 nautical miles with an altitude ceiling of 45,000 feet.
In May 2008, the Hawker Beechcraft Corporation announced they had received an order for ten new jets worth over $330 million from boutique private jet charter company BJETS.
Following the directive from BJETS, Hawker Beechcraft delivered its first Hawker 4000 to a private buyer named Jack P. DeBoer during a special ceremony at the company's Customer Delivery Center in Wichita, Kansas. At the time of its delivery, the Hawker 4000 was the world's only private business jet to use carbon composites in its construction.
In December 2009, Hawker Beechcraft received certification for the Hawker 4000 from the Civil Aviation Administration of China and delivered its first business jet to a customer in mainland China.
In May 2013, Hawker Beechcraft decided that it wanted to sell its private jet division and concentrate on building propeller-driven aircraft. At the time, it said it would leave the future of the Hawker 4000 up to the new buyer.
Journalist – Mark is an experienced travel journalist having published work in the industry for more than seven years. His enthusiasm for aviation news and wealth of experience lends itself to some excellent insight, with his work cited in Forbes amongst other publications. Based in Alicante, Spain.