Aircraft
Legacy Tails: The Premier Stands 'Outside its Time'
The Great Recession sealed the fate for the Beechcraft Premier family but its fans remain faithful.
Premier I aircraft
A Premier 1 owned by Greg Mink who posts his flying adventures on YouTube as Premier 1 Driver. (Photo: Greg Mink)

History is chock full of aircraft said to have come before their time, with technologies or designs that only gained broad acceptance years after their introduction. Others might be considered more “outside” their time; it’s fair to say the Beechcraft Model 390 Premier I/IA leans toward the latter.

Certainly, the Model 390 looked promising when Beechcraft’s then-owner Raytheon committed to the program in the mid-nineties. The manufacturer leveraged its experience with composite construction from the ill-fated Starship to design a thoroughly modern, single-pilot business jet intended to compete against cross-town rival Cessna’s popular owner-flown CitationJet.