Raytheon Premier I

MSS/fo
mmmmm
but one of Raytheon's goals was to provide
a superior level of comfort for passenger
and pilot. Automation is never a substitute
for basic airmanship, but anything that
eases the workload on a single pilot in
instrument conditions may be money well
spent. While 70% of Premiers will be flown
by a single pilot, 70% of buyers have opted
for the optional two-PFD layout and the
additional redundancy it provides.
Surprisingly big
Crossing the Beech Field ramp to board
N155RM, the second production aircraft,
for the test flight, we were surprised by
how big the Premier I was. The large fuse-
lage, swept wing and prominent wing-
fuselage fairing combine with the T-tail to
make the aircraft look like a piece of heavy
iron, worthy of two pilots in pressed white
shirts and neckties. Equally impressive was
the smoothness of the fuselage, almost
totally devoid of>fasteners.
The walk around was straightforward,
with all access panels readily available at
ramp height. One unique feature is the While the
two nose-mounted ice detection probes. Premier I has
Wing leading edges and engine inlets are the look and
anti-iced by engine bleed air. The horizon- feel of a much
tal stabiliser has a heated ice-parting strip larger aircraft,
and an electromagnetic expulsive de-icing its light
device, controlled either manually or auto- weight has
matically via the nose-mounted probes, enabled it
Raytheon has certificated the Premier for to be
operation into known icing conditions. certificated
Pre-flight inspection of the two for single-
Williams-Rolls FJ44-2A turbofans was sim- pilot
pie. Oil level is checked via two switches in operations
the aft maintenance bay. Not having to
open an access panel or pull out a dipstick
are features one would expect from an
owner-operated aircraft in this price range.
While checking the condition of the
engine inlets and exhaust nozzles, we
noted the prominent dimples in the fuse-
lage forward of the engines. This necking
down of the fuselage was made possible by
the composite construction and serves two
purposes. First it allows area ruling to
reduce drag at higher Mach numbers.
Second it allows the engines to be
mounted closer to the aircraft's centreline,
reducing the yaw caused by engine failure.
Cabin entry is via an integral door-
mounted airstair on the left forward side.
The manual non-plug-type door has six
latching points and is sealed by engine
bleed air. The flightdeck is separated from
the main cabin by hard partitions behind
each seat and a stowable curtain.
For the flight, senior demonstration cap-
tain Mark Loyancano sat in the right seat
and demonstration pilot Tom Sifford sat in
the passenger cabin. Although there was
room to store flight bags on the floor aft of
the centre console, we put them in the aft
cabin baggage area. Aircraft flight manual
and approach plates were readily available
behind the cockpit seats. The four-way
adjustable seat and two-position rudder
pedals ensured we could find a comfort-
able seating position.
The field of view out of the four forward,
heated windows was good, a necessary fea-
ture when operating into and out of
www.fliqhtinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 11-17 SEPTEMBER 2001 57