Finally Beechcraft makes the Premier a jet actually worth purchasing. My father had number 64 of the first one's produced, and they were not worth anything. We couldn't fly non-stop from Miami to NYC with full passenger load, not even with 3 passengers. The range sucked, and the payload sucked. The Short field performance was also terrible. Now finally the Premier II has more powerful engines, and can make it 1,500nm non-stop, with a more useful payload. It's always been fast, and now it can go farther faster.

YouTube - Beech Premier low approach

 

 

Now this airplane will actually be worth the price tag.

 

Any increase in size like the CJ2 and CJ3? Option for a dedicated hard-door lav?

Nice planes, but I'm with you. The Premier I needs more power.

 

I believe the interior volume is the same as before, but at least it has more power. However it's a much more comfortable cabin than the CJ3.

 

Nice jet, that fly by was awesome.

 

I just never got over how much runway the I and IA needed.

 

Yeah horrible short field performance. I think it's a bit better on this new one. Nothing like a Citation for a single pilot jet.

 

Agreed a CJ1/2 for single pilot ops can't be beat for easy to fly. Straight wing, proven design, and slow over the fence speeds.

The "easy to fly" comes at a cost when compared with something like an IA. The cost being 80-100 knots at cruise.

However for most small jet trips (300-400nm), I don't think 80-100knots is that big of a deal.