HAWKER BEECHCRAFT 800

In April 1981, the British Aerospace Board sanctioned the programme to improve the British Aerospace 125-700 series. By May 1983 the new aircraft was ready for its first test flight.

The BAe 125-800 series has a number of modifications and changes over the 700, the most noticeable being the redesigned cockpit windscreen.

The 125-800 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 Raytheon (which bought Beech Aircraft Corporation in 1980) acquired Corporate Jets. The new entity being known as Raytheon Aircraft. In March 2007, Raytheon divested its aircraft manufacturing business to Hawker Beechcraft Corp., a company formed and controlled by GS Capital Partners and Onex Partners of Canada.

The last version was the Hawker 850XP, which 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.

Aircraft of similar role, configuration and era are: Cessna Citation Sovereign, Dassault Falcon 20, Gulfstream G100, Learjet 60.