I stood the autothrottles of the Hawker 4000 up straight, and like magic they came right out of my hand and set their own power as though they knew just what I wanted. I kept my left hand on the tiller along the sidewall waiting for the 60-knot callout, at which point I knew the big rudder would become active. Hearing “60 knots,” I swapped hands, putting both on the elegant ram’s horn-style yoke and hanging on, keeping the airplane straight as it accelerated down the runway, centerline hash marks flashing past. Then, as we passed quickly through 100 knots and just a bit more, I heard “rotate,” and I did, the view changing from runway to blue and clouds as I pulled back and we climbed, positive rate, gear up, 400 feet, flaps up, then 14 degrees nose-up as we climbed straight out, the big picture-window view out the front and to the sides making the message quite clear that this is an impressive airplane by any standard.
Becoming 4000
To put things into a business perspective, let’s start with the big picture. The Hawker Beechcraft Corp. (HBC) Hawker 4000 is a super-midsize airplane that seats eight passengers in an elegant and luxurious stand-up cabin. With a range of nearly 3,200 nm, it is a true coast-to-coast performer against nearly any headwind and at better than airline speeds. It is a remarkable short-field performer for an airplane in its class, and it is competitively priced too. On top of that it is remarkably sophisticated, with systems and features unparalleled in its category. Sounds great, right? And it is.
