Development
In April 1981, the British Aerospace Board sanctioned the programme to improve the BAe 125-700 series. By May 1983 the new aircraft was ready for its first test flight.
The 800 series has a number of modifications and changes over the 700, the most noticeable being the redesigned cockpit windscreen. Accompanying this are a modified rear fuselage fairing, as well as a glass cockpit and uprated (from 3,700 to 4,300 lb) Garrett TFE731-5R-1H engines. British Aerospace also improved the wing by incorporating new outer wing sections. This helped to reduce drag and improve aerodynamic efficiency.
The 800 series would become a sales success. From the first BAe 125 flight in August 1961 it took nineteen years until the 500th airframe was sold. In a little over five years British Aerospace were registering the 200th sale of the 800 series.
In 1994 Beech Aircraft (which was also controlled by Raytheon) merged with Raytheon Corporate Jets to form Raytheon Aircraft. In March 2007, Raytheon Aircraft Company was sold to Hawker Beechcraft Corp., a company formed and controlled by GS Capital Partners (an affiliate of Goldman Sachs) and Onex Partners of Canada.
The current version is identified as the Hawker 850XP and was certified for operation in March 2006. The 850XP is identical to the 800XP except that it includes winglets, which have extended its operating range by 100 nautical miles (190 km). This version also incorporates upgraded avionics and a redesigned interior. The Hawker 850XP essentially fills the gap left behind by the Hawker 1000 when production of that aircraft ceased.
Two new variants were announced in October 2006 for future deliveries:
- The Hawker 750, in which the ventral fuel tank is replaced by an externally-accessed baggage pannier, which reduces range slightly.
- The Hawker 900XP, using new Honeywell TFE731-50BR engines for increased range
Read more about this topic: Hawker 800
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