A Popular Jet... By Any Name

An aircraft type that's seen its share of names celebrated something of a milestone this week... as Raytheon Aircraft Company delivered the 800th Hawker 125-800-series aircraft, a Hawker 850XP, to an Arkansas-based home shopping company.

The delivery is the most recent accomplishment in the long history of the best selling mid-size business aircraft of all time... as the plane we now know as the Hawker 800 has been available for sale, in one form or another, for 44 years... from four different manufacturers.

The original 125 business jet that started it all was first conceived by the De Havilland Aircraft Company. It first flew in 1962, with a Rolls Royce Viper 520 turbojet engine.

By 1968, the airplane had undergone several engine changes and other airframe modifications to reflect the latest standards. The De Havilland Aircraft Company by that time had been bought by the Hawker Siddeley Corporation and the 125 series aircraft (shown at right) became better known simply as the "Hawker".

In 1971, the Hawker airframe experienced its first big change -- a fuselage stretch of two feet. The 600 series featured the 3,750 lb. Rolls Royce Viper 601 turbojet engine, a 25,000 lb. takeoff weight and a range of over 1,500 nm.

By the mid-1970s, the Garrett TFE-731 engine was fitted to the Series 600 airframe and the Series 700 was born. The aircraft with its new turbofan engines had double the range of the turbojet-powered 600 even though they both had the same fuel capacity.

In 1983, after years of developing the same basic airframe, British Aerospace (into which Hawker Siddeley had now merged) decided to develop the all new Series 800. This aircraft featured the same basic cabin size as the Series 700, but incorporated a new nose with curved windscreens, a new wing design with increased wingspan and increased fuel capacity. The fin area was increased by a redesigned leading edge and the rear ventral fin deleted. The latest avionics development of Electronic Flight Information System (EFIS) was incorporated into the increased volume flight deck.

Raytheon Company purchased British Aerospace Corporate Jets on August 6, 1993, and renamed it Raytheon Corporate Jets. In mid-September of 1994, Beech Aircraft and Raytheon Corporate Jets merged to form Raytheon Aircraft Company.

A year later, RAC built on the success of the Hawker by introducing the Hawker 800XP (right). Features of the aircraft included an improved environmental system, inflight capable APU, enlarged TKS de-icing fluid tank, aileron and tab gearing, standard thrust reversers, improved brake energy capacity, and a small ‘vortilon’ which provided a clean wing. The airframe was strengthened which provided increased payloads and the ability to carry full seating capacity and full fuel load.

The Hawker 800XP engines were upgraded to the more powerful TFE-731-5BR rated at 4,660 lb. each which provided the Hawker 800XP with sparkling airfield performance particularly from hot and high elevation airfields. The engine featured a digital electronic control (DEEC) for excellent efficiency and minimum crew engine monitoring. Range increased to 2,500 nm.

On February 28, 2006, Raytheon Aircraft Company announced certification of the newest aircraft in the Hawker family, the Hawker 850XP. With Raytheon Aircraft designed winglets, the aircraft was the next evolution of the highly successful Hawker 800-series. A few weeks later, the first Hawker 850XP was delivered to a customer at a special ceremony in Little Rock.

Today, the company sells the 800XP and 850XP planes that, while obviously new and improved, still clearly pay homage to their predecessors. Over 1,500 Hawker jets of all types are in service, according to Raytheon. 

FMI: www.raytheonaircraft.com