Aircraft model
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT COMPANY 390
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Premier I is a light jet with a composite fuselage built by filament winding, which let Raytheon make the cabin wider than any competitor of its size without the weight penalty of metal. It cruises at 451 knots and is certified single-pilot, and the cabin is genuinely the roomiest in the entry-level class. The registry string covers both the Premier I and the Premier IA, and the difference is worth knowing. Raytheon announced the IA in May 2005 and certified it that October, with production switching at serial RB-435: the same FJ44-2A engines and the same numbers, but a redesigned interior with an acoustic liner and better seating, updated Pro Line 21 avionics and a list of systems fixes that addressed the early aircraft's reputation for teething trouble. Externally nothing changed. A 2006 or later aircraft is a IA; a 2001 to 2005 one is a I, and the price gap between them reflects the interior and the support history more than the aeroplane.
The complication is runway performance. The Premier has no thrust reversers and a relatively high approach speed, and its landing distance requirement is long for a light jet — it needs more runway than its size suggests and that limits which airports it can realistically use. Later aircraft addressed some of this. The composite fuselage requires specialist repair, and Beechcraft's bankruptcy and the type's discontinuation in 2013 leave support running through Textron for a small fleet. A type rating is required.
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- RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT COMPANY 390
What it is
| Seats | 8 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 2 |
| Engine | Williams FJ44-2A |
| Horsepower | — |
| Fuel | JetA |
| Certification basis | FAR23 |
| Production start | 2001 |
| Production end | 2013 |
| Endorsements required | multi-engine |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 451 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 1,160 nm |
| Service ceiling | 41,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 3,300 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 85 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 3,792 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 3,170 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 8 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 4,000 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 583 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 12,500 lb |
| Empty weight | 8,500 lb |
| Usable fuel | 510 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 130 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $1,100,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $2,500,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | $500,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $700,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 188 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 130 |
| Median year built | 2004.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 15.381 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 02 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 38 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 29.233 |
| Airworthiness directives | 22 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 130 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 130 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 130 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing multi-engine, turbo-fan, 2 engines, 7+ seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 1.7 of 103 |
| Support | 4.7 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 3.4 of 105 |
These record scores treat RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT COMPANY 390 as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes 64 aircraft registered under HAWKER BEECHCRAFT CORP. Prices are not combined.
- Accident record: class median 1.23 · 42 models in class.
- Severity: class median 10.
- Access: class median 9,850.
- Support: class median 197.5.
- Liquidity: class median 32.81.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.