b&ca beechjet 400

7/16/2019 B&CA Beechjet 400

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BEECHJETOOAAuthentic eech ngineeringsevidenthroughout

this prite ndspociousight et.-

50 Business Commerciol v iot ionlJune 99 l

By JOHN W. OTCOTT



in the United States, the MitsubishiDiamond II design was purchased byBeech, renamed the Beechjet Model400, and built and marketed exclu-sively by the Wichita manufacturer.

Initially, major portions of the air-craft were constructed bv Mitsubishiraft were constructed by Mitsubishiand shipped to Beech'.for assembly,

! but in 1988 Beechpurchqsed all tool-j ing from the Japanese'end began

Beechlet ovionics suiles come in three versions depending on thenumber of lorge-lube disploys in the ponel. In oll coses, the system isCollins Pro Line 4.

TIfleech finallv has its own businessjet. Gone is the wtodel 400 (nee Dia-mond II), the product that the world'smost prolific manufacturer of turbo-props purchased from MitsubishiHeavy Industries in 1985 o launch itsthird foray into the pure jet arena.Today's Model 400A Beechjet truly

reflects Beech engineering, stylingand manufacturing, and it is destinedto be a proud contributor to the com-pany's strong heritage of businessaircraft.

Unlike Beech's attempt in the veryearly 1960s o distribute the Morane-Saulnier MS 760 Paris, a four-placejet designed and manufactured inFrance, or its marketing arrange-ment with Hawker Siddeley in the1970s o sell the Model 125-600 with-

contract, which it won last year. Bythe secondquarter of 1991, eachMod-el 400^{ was 100 percent Beech built;no parts ofJapanese manufacture arein aircraft after serial number 24.

More than the place of assemblyand manufacture changed as the Dia-mond II became he Beec\fet 400 andeventually evolved into the Model400A. Today's Beecbjet differs mark-

edly in performance,utility, avionics,accommodations, styling and finishfrom both the Diamond II and theModel400.

Beech made only minor changes tothe Diamond II when it introducedthe aircraft as the Beechjet Model 400in the spring of 1986. Whereas theDiamond II's Vuo of 320 knots couldbe maintained only to 17,000 feet be-fore the aircraft, had to begin slowingto a Vtuo of 264 knots by 14,000 feet,

Models 400 and 400A can hold 320KIAS to 11,000 feet before slowing to264 KIAS by 8,000 feet. That flight-envelopeexpansion improved the air-craft's operational flexibility as well

as accommodated an FAA require-ment regarding bird strikes. Other-wise, there were no changes betweenthe Diamond II and the Model 400flight manuals. More significant dif-ferencesexist between the Model 400and 4004' flight manuals, however.

The Model400 was fitted with a for-ward lavatory that could be used asan approved passenger seat and couldbe isolated from the passengerarea bydoor dividers rather than the curtainthat was found in the Diamond II.B e e c h f a b r i c s w e r e e m p l o y e dthroughout the cabin, and the Dia-mond II's optional fuselage fuel tankand aft baggage compartment becamestandard. Interior modifications onthe Model 400A are far more reach-ing, as we will explain.

ilDW BEDCHJETr,Vith he decision to acquire and moveall Beechjet production tooling to Wi-chita came the opportunity to signifi-cantly improve the Model 400 andprominently place the Beech stampon what had been the Diamond ILDuring the nine months required torelocate heavy tooling from Japan,Beechengineers designedsubstantial

changes that would make the aircrafta better business et as well as moreattractive to the Air Force.

Avionics clearly differentiate theModel 400A from its predecessor see

accompanying article on page 57).Whereas the Model 400 employed ananalog autopilot with conventionalelectronic flight instrumentation sys-tems as optional equipment, the Mod-el 4004, relies upon Collins ho Line 4equipment incorporating.Collins'FCS-850 digital flight control systemas well as pilot's side EFIS (CollinsEFD-871) and a single multifunction

display (Collins MFD-871) as stan-dard equipment. Optional instrumen-tation encompasses hree- and four-tube EFIS configurations featuringthe latest design by Collins in elec-tronic primary flight displays (PFDs),

which combine attitude, heading, al-titude, rate and airspeed presenta-tions in one CRT.

Standard equipment also includes asingle Collins FMS-850 flight man-agement system, Collins WXR-840

Business CommerciolAvioiionlJune l99l 5l

facilitiesin part toive in itseTanker/

place

Air



color radar with a 14-inch antenna,Collins ALT-5SB radio altimeter andRosemount air data probe.

Unlike the Model 400, which em-ployed a separate rudder-like surfacefor yaw damping and disabledthe sys-tem at speedsabove 286.5 knots, theModel 400,{ uses a conventional yawdamper contained within the autopi-

lot and is operational at all speeds.Rudder boost s alsopart of the 400A'srudder system, thereby reducing forcerequirements during single-engineoperations to about 80 pounds from180 to 200 pounds. (Rudder boost isalso found in the Diamond II andModel400 Beechjet.)

Structural changes in the fuel sys-tem and landing gear give the Model400A a maximum ramp weight of16,300 pounds, 450 pounds heavier

52 Business CommerciolAviotionlJune l99l

t han t he Mode l 400 . Max imumtakeoffweight has been ncreased 320pounds to 16,100 pounds, and zerofuel weight is 13,000, up 530 poundsfrom that of the Model 400. Tankage,which holds a maximum of 4,911poundsoffuel, has beenredesigned nsuch a manner that fuselage capacityis consumed frrst, thereby allowing

the weight of the wing fuel to reducethe bending moment at the wing root.(All the wing fuel had to be usedbefore the Model 400's fuselage tankwas tapped.)

Currently, the Model 400A's fuelsystem does not allow for single-pointrefuelling. Three ports, one for eachwing and one for the fuselage,provideaccess to the aircraft 's tankage.Watch for possible changes in thisarea, however, since Beech's winning

Beechcrqftsmonshlps opporent In tfie400ffs redeslgned nierlor. Newhigh-rechsound ropplng ponelshovequleted he possengercomporlmenlsignlflcqnrly.

entry to the TITS contract has single-point refuelling capability. (The pro-gram is now called the T-1A TlainingSystem, and the aircraft is designatedthe T-1A Jayhawk.)

Baggage capacity has been reducedslightly from 57.5 to 57.0 cubic feetand redistributed due to the fuel-tankredesign. The Model 400A's unpressu-rized baggage compartment in thefuselage contains 25 cubic feet ofvol-

ume and holds 950 pounds, comparedwith the Model400's 33 cubic feet and1,000pounds ofcapacity. A hydraulicdamper has been added to facilitateoperation of the fuselage baggagedoor.

The landing gear oleo struts wereredesigned to allow an anticipated in-crease in maximum landing weightfrom the Beechjet's present value oft4,220 pounds (same as the Model400) to 15,700 pounds. By adjustingthe rate at which the fluid within thestruts is metered, engineers were ableto create landing loads at 15,700

poundsthat are the same as now existfor a Beechjet landing at t4,220pounds. Anti-skid logic has been re-programmed and recalibrated to re-flect the requirements of the Model400A.

Other structural changes are mi-nor: The nose gear support has beenreinforced with doublers, and thegauge of belly skins has been in-creased somewhat for added protec-

tion during gear-up landings. Emer-



BlCAANATYSIS

gency egress has been moved forwardone window compared with the Model400, thereby adding to the flexibilityof interior options, and a pneumatic

cylinder is now incorporated withinthe cabin airstair for easier door oper-ation. Thesestructural changesaddedonly eight pounds o the Model 400A'sempty weight.

ENHANCEDNTERIORConsiderablecare has been taken toprovide classicBeech inish and styl-ing and to offer more flexibility incab in op t i ons . Seven passenge rseats-four in an aft club arrange-ment, two facing in the forward cabinarea and a belted seat in the aft-

SPECIFICATIONSBEECHJETOOA

B/CA Equipped Price $5,008,916

Seoting 2 + 7/9

EnginesModelPowerTB OPSI

weighrs (lb,/kg)Mox rompMox tokeoffMox ondingZero fuelBOWMo x poyloodUsefuloodMo x fuelPoyloodw/mox fuelFuelw/mox poylood

Limirs/SpeedsMmo (Moch)VF E opp.| KlASl

Vz (KlAs)Vner KIAS)

Airport Pe#ormqnce

Ronge Performonce

Dimensions

2 P&WJTI5D-52,900 beo .3,0009.5

| 6,3007 394| 6,too/7 3o 314,220/6,450t3,ooo/5,897to,620/4,8172,380/ t ,O8O5,680/2,5764,912/2,228768/3483,300/1 ,497

o.78520012 41 1 2

(seechorts)

{see chorts)

(see three-views)

BEECHJETOOA

Avi

HeofLeodEdge

FlowFence

onics F:":p. Ir Ponel

\ \ = S a 6 l o a a - - - t s

\

AvionicsAccessPonel

Spoilers(RollControl'-ond Approoch)

, HorizontolStobilizer\, Pivols or PilchTrim

9.3' 2. 8m) r

Business Commercio l v iot ionlJune l99l 53



B/CA CO}TPARISONPROFILE@(7" Relofive to Averoge)

ooo

> l

a

j

o

6

3oo

6

Designers o-liem_pt o give oircrofl exceplioncl copobiliries in oll oreos, including price, but the lows of physics do not ollow oneoircrqft !o do oll missions wirh equol efficiency. Trqde-offs ore o reclity of oircrofi design.

In order to obtoin o feeling for the strengths ond compromises of o porticulor oircrofi, B/CA compcres the subiect oircrqft,sperformonce lo the composile chorocteristics of qircroff in its closs. We overoge porometers of in|erist for the vehicler thqt oremost likely to be considercd qi compefitive with rhe subiect of our onclysis, ond then we compute the percent differencesbetween the poromelers of the subie<t oircraft ond tlre composite numbers for the competitive group o! o whole. Thosedif{ere-nces ore presented obove in bor.groplr form, ond the obsolute volue of the poroheter under-considerotion, olong withifs rqnk with respect to the composife, ore given.

For this Comporison Profile@, we pnesenl selected pqrometers of rhe Beechier 4OOA in relqfion to o competitive groupconsisting of the Cessno Citotion ll, Cessnq Citotion V, Leoriet 3|A/ER ond the leorier 35A. lr should be un<ierstood rhot rhisComporison Prof_ileo s meonl to illuctrqne relative strcngths ond compromises of the subiect oircrafg it is not o meons ofcomporing specific qircroff to eoch other.

located potty-constitute the stan-dard cabin arrangement. Head andshoulder room is ample for a light jet,

in part because fthe Beechjet's ela-tively large volume for this class ofbusiness jet and partly due to thefuselage's oval design. Leg room is

54 Business Commerciol v iol ionlJune 99l

also good, and the aircraft's flat flooradds o passengercomfort. A carry-onbaggagearea and a refreshment cabi-net are positionedfore and aft, respec-tively, of the entrance area in thisconfiguration.

Optional Beechjet interiors include

nine belted seats in a double-clubgrouping with pyramid cabinets sepa-rating the forward and aft areas, andan eight -passenger arrangementwhere the space hat is utilized for thedouble club's left forward chair isfilled by a combination carry-on bag-



2,OOO

1,500

Eg

ocs'5

1,000

500

TI}IE AND FUELVERSUSDISTANCE

Conditions: 0Glb pqylood;NBM reserveslOOnmolternote);erowi rISA; ong-rongeruise t Ft 430; high-speedruise t F[ 3 I 0

1 ,567 n

4,0r tb

1 ,096 m

4,o1oy///

1 , 1 9 7 m

3,30rb

High-Speed

429 nm

, ise 3,475lb tt //,/

Lol

.784nm2 , 3 7 6 l b

-Ronge Cruise

1,9s0b

371 nm

1 ,451 b

Time hr)

BEECHJETOOAT hese h ree g rophs o re des i gned o be usedtogether o give you o brood pictureof oircroftperformonce. or o complele perolionol nolysis,consulthe monufoclurer'serformonce horts.

lime ond Fuel Versur Dis tonce-This grophshows he plot of hro missions, ne flown ot h igh-speed cruise, he olher ot moximum-rongeruise.The numbers t the ime hocksoresent umulolivem i l e s f l o w n o n d f u e l b u r n e d . W h i l e t h e

inlermediote oinlson these inesore occurote nlyfor h e full rip, heycon give he usero rough deoof timeond fuel or kips of interme dioteength.

S pec i f i c R onge -T he spec i f i c onge o f onoircroft,o meosure f its fuel efficiency, s o rolioof nouticolmiles lown per pound of fuel burned.Relotivelyorge speci f ic onge numbers ndicolehigh mi leoge ield on the fuel nvestment;mol lspecific onge numberssuggest ess-efficientue lburns.Thisgroph showsspecific onge voluesolfive oltitudes or the Beechjet 004. For exomple,ot FL27O the Beechjet os o high-speed ruiseofobout465 knots, or o specific ongeof 0.259. AtFL 320, the Beechiet i l l del iver449 knofs,bu tfuel specificswill increos e o oboul 0.345 nm,/lbruet.

R onge /P oy l ood P ro f i l e s -T h i s g roph i sintended o enobleyou to mokegrosssimulotionsof tr ips undero vorieiyof poyloodond oi rportconditions. or his reoortwe elected o useMoch0.23 cruisepower sett ings. he poylood ines-intendedonly for grossevoluotionpurposes-oregeneroted rom he endpoints. imeond fuel burnsore plotiedonly for the longestmission.Keepingthese imi totionsn mind, he chortcon helpyo uge l o

" fee l "fo r the o i rp l one ' s opob i l i t y .Fo r

exomple,f yo u wont o simuloie 1,000 nm kipond o 600-poundpoylood you con opproximotethe lime requiredot 2 + 30, the fuel needed osobout 2,850 lbs on d the stondord-doy unwoyrequiredos oboul 3,400 feet. You olso con seelhol lhe moximum onge, no-wind, erry r ip wi l ltoke obout four hoursond burn 4,041 poundsoffuel. Tokeoff ield length will be iust over 3,600TEEI.

Note-The numbers ond plots presenled on lhese

grophs ore opproximote. No o t tempt hos been

mode to opfimize ihe climb or descenl profiles. Do

nol use hese doto fo r flight plonning purposes.

4

Ec

ooc0

4

.c

ocvt

0.500

0.450

0.400

0.350

0.300

o.250320 35 0 400 4so 460470

KIAS

SPECIFICANGE

lConditions: 4,000 b; *i"djl-NA I

^sgiw-o

/1- , L J ] N N t

"t

!z>o

=\.--

l i\t

\

RANGE/PAYLOADPROFITE

Condiilons: our possengers;

NBM reservesi OGnmolternotel;zerowind; SA:Moch O.73cruise

BoloncedFieldLength

st 5,000 tISA l lSA+20 'C

4,142 6,68

4,212

2.832

GrossTokeoffWeight

(lbl

FuelBurn(lbl

Time(h d

t,460I

2,4042

s,348

16,000

t5,000

13,000

r2,0001.000

Rongc {nm)

Business Commerciol v iol ionlJune 1991 5



BlCL ANATYSN

gage compartment and refreshmentcabinet.

Beech's desire to provide a double-club arrangement and an aft lavatorywas the driving factor in the reloca-

tion of the emergency exit and theredesign of the fuselage fuel tanks.Air distribution was also redesignedto provide more head room, the mainelectrical junction box was moved tothe aft fuselage for space considera-tions, and there were minor reloca-tions ofcontrol and hydraulic lines toaccommodate the Model 400A's aft-lavatory.

Interior design and overall work-manship are Beech throughout-solidand reflective of the company's repu-tation as a leading provider of busi-ness aircraft. Silk screening ratherthan decals are used for signage.Chairs rest on solid bases, hus thereare no exposedchair rails. Longitudi-nal and lateral tracking is standard,and canting is optional. Pullout tablesbetween the aft club seats are suf-ficiently sturdy to support 120-poundloads, and they are functional andeasy o operate. (Cabinetry is done forBeech by Prec i s i on Pa t t e rn o fWichita.)

The Model 400.{ Beechjet uses anoxygen cylinder rather than generat-

ing breathing oxygen from solidchemicals, as is done in the DiamondII and Model400, thereby giving the

newer Beechjet a greater supply.Considerable sound testing and at-

The Beechler 4OOA s powered by twoJTI5D-5 tufiofons roted ot 2,900pounds eoch.

tention to detail resulted in the deci-sion to replace lead-vinyl noise-sup-pression material used in the Model400 with newly designed, high-technoise absorption panels in the Model400.4' and to use higher density fiberglass between interior panels and thesidewall. Engines were specially bal-anced o lower vibration levels withinthe passenger cabin. As a result ofthese changes, which did not materi-ally change the Beechjet's emptyweight, cabin sound levels (as meas-ured by B/CA (at FL 410,0.78 Mach,447 KTAS) averaged 79 dBA in the

passenger cabin and 84 dBA in thecockpit.

IIGHT.JET COMPAnISOilRaw numbers fail to describe theident i ty of Beech's Model 400ABeechjet. As shown in the B/CA Com-parison Profile@ on page 54, which

positions the Model 400A against ahypothetical aircraft that possessesthe average performance and size of-five lightjets in its market, speedandcabin space are the aircraft's strongpoints. Not shown is the added benefitof the Beechjet's oval shape and flatfloor, which add to headroom and cab-in usefulness. For typical trips ofthree to four people flying 500 to 700miles, the Beechjet'sassets of passen-ger comfort and speed make it com-petitive and may be more representa-tive than our Comparison, which isbased upon maximum payload andmissions of 1,000 nm.

Nothing in the Comparison Profile@reflects the aircraft's very attractivehandling qualities. In spite of itsspeed, Beechjet Model 4004, in ouropinion is docile and relatively easy ofly. Ground tracking using the rud-ders and their linkage to the nose-wheel is easily achieved with mini-mum compensation, even in the quar-tering headwind that existed duringour evaluation flights at Beech Field.Rotation forces are comfortable dur-ing liftoff, and the aircraft exhibitsvery good pitch stability after takeoffand in the climb.

At altitude, we were impressedwith the natural damping of the air-craft when exposed to conditions thatnormally excite Dutch roll. With theyaw damper off, the Model 4004, sup-pressed he rolUyaw motion of Dutchroll within less than six cycles. Spiralstability, the tendency for the aircraftto roll in the direction of the low wingwhen left unattended, was neutral,which means that the aircraft main-tains whatever bank it has when thepilot releases the controls. Such afavorable characteristic is excellentfor hand-f ly ing an ai rcraf t on

instruments.Speed stability on approach wasalso very good. Like its predecessors,the Model 400A trims nicely on ap-proach and gives the pilot a steadyplatform for a stabilized approach,even in gusty conditions.

For the company considering alight jet with a highly competitivecombination of size and speed as wellas very good handling, the BeechjetModel400.4' should be seen. BlGA

Strucfurol chonges In the fuel syslem ond londlng geor give the 4lXlA o mox rompwelgl* of l6,3dl pounds, some 400 pounds heovier thon eorller rnodels.

56 BusinessCommerciolviofiontJune99l

b&ca beechjet 400

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