Hawker 900XP | Article

Hawker 900XP

The Hawker 900XP is the latest iteration of perhaps the best selling mid-sized series of all time.   Its origins derive from the de Havilland DH. 125 medium-sized corporate jets, introduced in August 1962.   After building a mere 77 units, de Havilland was bought out by Hawker Siddely.   The original design was improved to feature increased fuselage and more cabin seating capacity.   In the mid-1970s, there was a switch from earlier Rolls Royce Viper turbojets to the first variant powered by turbofans.   Raytheon acquired BAe Corporate Jets in 1993, which later became Hawker Beechcraft.   The Hawker 900XP’s first deliveries took place late 2007.

The Hawker 900XP’s direct predecessor, the 850XP, offers a slightly less in regards to performance, but at a smaller price tag: about $1.5 million less.   However, the main difference between the two is the power plants.   The Hawker 900XP uses the Dash-50R (a new variant of Honeywell’s TFE731) that exhibits improvements in fuel efficiency, hot-and-high performance as well as climb performance.   The Dash-50R has a 24 percent range increase in hot-and-high departure conditions and a 7 percent range improvement in normal operations.

The Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite includes many features that improve awareness and enhance safe ty.   In addition to normal flight details, its adaptive flight displays graphically depict navigation, weather, Terrain Awareness Warning Systems (TAWS) and Enhanced Ground Proximi ty Warning Systems (EGPWS).   The Collins Pro Line 21 avionics system decreases pilot workload while increasing awareness, providing more safe ty overall.   The Integrated Flight Information System’s (IFIS) has a 3-D Flight Management System (FMS), XM Satellite Weather, electronic Jeppesen charts and Universal graphical weather which are only some of its technologically advanced features.

The design specifications of the Hawker 900XP offers some nice improvements over its predecessor while maintaining the characteristics that has made it so popular.   This mid-sized aircraft is comprised of twin-turbofans, dual-wheel retractable tricycle landing gear which is typical for HS-125 airframe.   Many features have been enhanced such as its increased Wingspan (54.3 ft), improved winglets and as mentioned the new Honeywell TFE731-50R engine.   These enhancements give the Hawker 900XP better range and operational efficiency.

The Hawker 900XP’s cabin does not disappoint.   The eight passenger private jet has a roomy, comfortable interior measuring at 604 cubic ft.   With plen ty of stand-up headroom and ample lavatory space, the aircraft ensures a passenger-friendly flight.    In addition to space, the 900XP has LCD cabin lighting and touch-screen controls at each fully-berthable seat.

The Hawker 900XP proves to be very competitive in its category, especially for its price tag.   Measuring a max cabin width of 6.0 ft, the aircraft is wider than the Gulfstream G150 and the Citation Sovereign, whose measurements are 5.8 ft and 5.5 ft respectively.   In addition, the Hawker 900XP’s cabin measures an ample 604 cubic ft, trumping the Gulfstream G150’s 465 cubic ft.   This cabin affords comfortable seating 6-7 adult passenger with 8 overall seats.   As far as price in 2008, the Hawker 900XP list price was about $14,707,700 compared to the $17,066,000 Citation Sovereign.   With only minute differences in performance on a typical business trip, the Hawker 900XP is well worth the money.

Overall, the Hawker 900XP offers a lot of bang for your buck.   Developed from a long line of competitive models, this aircraft features generous accommodations, tremendous performance and a technologically advanced instrument panel all at a reasonable price.