In April 1981, the
British Aerospace (BAe) 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. Accompanying this are a modified rear fuselage fairing, as well as a
glass cockpit and uprated (from 3,700 to 4,300 lb thrust)
Garrett TFE731-5R-1H engines. British Aerospace incorporated
wingtip devices to reduce
drag and improve
aerodynamic efficiency. From the first BAe 125 flight in August 1962, it took nineteen years until the 500th airframe was sold. In about five years, British Aerospace was registering the 200th sale of the 800 series. In 1994, Raytheon (which bought
Beech Aircraft Corporation in 1980) acquired BAe Corporate Jets. The new entity was known as Raytheon Aircraft. In March 2007, Raytheon divested its aircraft manufacturing business to Hawker Beechcraft Corp., a company formed and controlled by
Goldman Sachs Alternatives and
Onex Partners of Canada. The final 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 . 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. In 2006, its unit cost was $13,786,100. In October 2006, two new variants were announced: • The
Hawker 750, in which the ventral fuel tank is replaced by an externally accessed baggage pannier, which reduces range slightly. • The '''''', using new Honeywell TFE731-50BR engines for increased range. In 2012, its unit cost was US$ 16.07 million. After the 2013 bankruptcy of Hawker Beechcraft, the surviving company,
Beechcraft, discontinued its business jet range, including the 800 series. By 2018, a 1980s-era 700s was priced for less than $500,000, a 1995 800A at $1.02 million and a 2012 900XP at $6 million. ==Design==