Raytheon Certifies Hawker 850XP

Raytheon Aircraft Company last week said it had received FAA certification of the newest member in its Hawker business jet family, the Hawker 850XP, a growth version of the venerable marque. The 850XP’s major innovation is the addition of winglets to the basic and highly successful Hawker 800 series, which Raytheon says is part of a strategic series of upgrades for the Hawker fleet. That effort began with the Hawker 400XP in May 2003. The Hawker 800-series, capturing the perfect balance of speed, range, and comfort, has a long history of continual evolution. These upgrades were selected to meet the demanding requirements of todays aircraft operators ensuring that it remains the worlds best selling midsize jet, said Brad Hatt, president and general manager of Hawker Business at Raytheon Aircraft Company. The 850’s winglets are of composite construction and designed to enhance aerodynamic performance: The new jet boasts a 100-nm increase in range, up to 8-percent improvement in time-to-climb as well as faster airspeeds and block speeds. The winglets also incorporate state-of-the-art LED position lights that have a mean time between failure of 5000 hours. The enhanced “ramp presence” doesn’t hurt anything, either.

Raytheon Aircraft Company last week said it had received FAA certification of the newest member in its Hawker business jet family, the Hawker 850XP, a growth version of the venerable marque. The 850XP's major innovation is the addition of winglets to the basic and highly successful Hawker 800 series, which Raytheon says is part of a strategic series of upgrades for the Hawker fleet. That effort began with the Hawker 400XP in May 2003. The Hawker 800-series, capturing the perfect balance of speed, range, and comfort, has a long history of continual evolution. These upgrades were selected to meet the demanding requirements of todays aircraft operators ensuring that it remains the worlds best selling midsize jet, said Brad Hatt, president and general manager of Hawker Business at Raytheon Aircraft Company. The 850's winglets are of composite construction and designed to enhance aerodynamic performance: The new jet boasts a 100-nm increase in range, up to 8-percent improvement in time-to-climb as well as faster airspeeds and block speeds. The winglets also incorporate state-of-the-art LED position lights that have a mean time between failure of 5000 hours. The enhanced "ramp presence" doesn't hurt anything, either.

Other improvements in the 850XP when compared to its predecessors, the Hawker 800 and 800 Xpi, include new scheduled maintenance interval improvements from 300 hours to 600 hours, with only a detailed walk-around inspection required at 300 hours. The Hawker 850XP features an upgrade to the existing Rockwell Collins ProLine 21 avionics suite with IFIS (Integrated Flight Information System) standard, as well as optional features. It also includes a new updated interior and the new Airshow 21 cabin management system. The 850XP has a maximum takeoff weight of 28,000 lbs., seats as many as 15 passengers -- you'll prefer the eight-pax seating configuration -- has a maximum ceiling of FL4100 and can fly as fast as 466 KTAS. Deliveries of the Hawker 850XP will begin immediately and foreign certifications are already being pursued, according to Raytheon.