The Raytheon Beech 400/400A evolved from the Mitsubishi Diamond 2 design that was bought by Beech in the mid 1980’s. The original Mitsubishi MU300 Diamond 1 flew for the first time in August 1978. Only 11 Diamond 2’s were built before Beech purchased the design and production rights. The Diamond 2 was renamed the Beech 400. Beech equipped the Diamond 2 with JT15D5 turbofan engines, developed a new interior, and made other minor changes. The new Beech 400A has a higher max takeoff weight and greater operating ceiling along with improved performance. Moving the rear fuselage fuel tank increased cabin volume. The flight deck features Collins Pro Line 4 EFIS avionics suite. Raytheon introduced a new luxury standard interior for the Beech 400A in 1996.
- Aircraft Library
- 1979 - 1988
The Westwind started out as the Aero Commander 1121 Jet Commander. When Rockwell (owner of Aero Commander) acquired North American Aviation (owner of Sabreliner) in
