Hawker Horizon

Hawker Beechcraft’s Hawker 4000, more commonly known as the Hawker Horizon, has been in development for over a decade and recently certified. Customer deliveries will start this month.   Hawker Beechcraft has high hopes for this private jet – they designed it to meet the high standards of comfort and performance required in the super midsized category of aircraft. To give the Horizon a competitive edge, Hawker Beechcraft selected a carbon fiber fuselage, making the Horizon the first super mid-sized business jet to use one. Hawker Horizon’s closest competitor, the Challenger 300, is so similar in many areas that it seems the two private jets were designed with the other in mind. They differ by just a small margin in price and barely differ in many areas of performance.

The cabin is one of the areas of divergence between the two private jets. The interior of the Hawker Horizon measures 29.5 feet long, 6 feet high, and 6.5 feet wide. The Challenger 300, by comparison, lacks 1 foot in length but exceeds the Hawker Horizon by 1 inch in height and by 8 inches in width. Total cabin volume for the Hawker Horizon is 762 cubic feet, a sizeable distinction from the Challenger 300’s 860 cubic foot cabin.

Both cabins can be configured for 8 to 14 passengers. The Horizon has 115 cubic feet of baggage space, nearly 9% more than the Challenger 300’s 106 cubic feet. The Hawker Horizon’s interior is quite luxurious, as befits a private jet of its size. The cabin is equipped with all the amenities necessary for a productive office at 45,000 feet: individual worktables, power outlets, and a MagnaStar 2000 air-to-ground phone all come standard. Cabin entertainment systems include a CD/DVD player, Rockwell Collins Airshow map, and a full galley with plenty of storage space. Additional entertainment and office amenities can be added as desired.

Hawker Beechcraft chose Pratt and Whitney Canada’s PW308A engines to power their private jets. The PW308A is flat rated to 6,900 pounds of thrust, only slightly more than the 6,826 pounds of thrust produced by the Challenger 300’s Honeywell HTF7000 engines. The inspection interval for the PW308A is 6,000 hours and on-condition for the HTF7000.  

The Hawker Horizon lags somewhat behind the Challenger 300 in runway performance: on a sea level runway, the Horizon requires 5,200 feet, while the Challenger 300 requires only 4,810 feet. The difference becomes more evident on a runway at 5,000 feet above sea level: the Horizon can take off in 7,625 feet; the Challenger 300 can take off in 6,768 feet. Both private jets can climb to 37,000 feet in 14 minutes. Cruise speeds of the two aircraft are fairly similar: the Hawker Horizon’s long range speed cruise is 447 ktas and the Challenger 300’s is 459. Their high speed cruises are identical at 470 ktas.

The slight differences in cruise speed and more noteworthy gaps in runway performance even out on actual missions: for a 1,000 nautical mile trip with four passengers, crew, and required NBAA IFR reserves, the Hawker Horizon actually takes off 445 feet before the Challenger 300. Both aircraft would reach their destinations in 2 hours and 18 minutes. The only major difference in the trip would be in fuel burn: the Hawker Horizon would consume 4,260 pounds of fuel, 361 pounds more than the Challenger 300.

In summary, the Hawker Horizon and the Challenger 300 are very close competitors. Their differences in runway performance, cruise speeds, and flight time are negligible. The Hawker Horizon’s price tag of is just slightly under the Challenger 300.The only differences large enough to take into consideration when choosing between the two are the Horizon’s sizeable baggage and the Challenger 300’s economical fuel burn.   Both are great aircraft and will be the standard to achieve in their class.

*Beware MagnaStar phone system has been threatening to shutdown for the past couple of years.