Expert Opinion
AIN Blog: Hawker Beech As Repository of Composites Intelligence
The protracted gestation for the Hawker 4000 suggests that doing a composite airplane right is not as easy as it appears.
The protracted gestation for the Hawker 4000 suggests that doing a composite airplane right is not as easy as it appears.

Reaction to the collapse of negotiations between Hawker Beechcraft and Superior Aviation Beijing seems to be less that of surprise and more about the inevitability of the dead end the two companies reached.

For a start, there was the price. In the words of one seasoned observer, “We all knew as an industry that the $1.79 billion bid was bogus, but the promise to fund operations led us to ascribe more to Superior’s bid than we should have, which begs questions. What did the Chinese get from doing this? And why was Superior so readily prepared to forego the $50 million it paid for an exclusivity agreement just to have a look at Hawker Beechcraft’s books? Did China gain anything from this privileged access, such as insight into composites or other technology? If so, for what purpose?”

Nigel Moll
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