It takes time to work the bugs out of most all-new airplane designs, and the Beechcraft Premier is no exception. The Premier’s design goals of being the fastest light jet with the largest cabin cross section were accomplished when it entered service in 2001, but it is now, with the IA version, that the Premier is hitting its stride as a mature design.
The Premier is a pioneer as the first business jet to use carbon graphite epoxy as primary structure. The Premier fuselage is made from carbon fiber while the wing is constructed of conventional aluminum alloys. The carbon fiber fuselage probably saves some weight, but more importantly, it allows for a larger interior cross-section size for a given external dimension because the composite structure is thinner than a conventional metal fuselage. Boeing is using a similar scheme in its new 787 Dreamliner.
