Surprising and not surprising! Flight FX Hawker 800XP full review

Coming out of seemingly nowhere, Flight FX released the Hawker 800XP with minimal warning until the very last minute surprising nearly everyone in the community. The developer has previously released the Citation X, P.180, HJet, and various other projects for Microsoft Flight Simulator. Each time the developer has managed to push things a little bit further but the Hawker 800XP feels like they have really tried to take everything learned before and then go a few steps beyond. Here’s what you can expect if you buy the Hawker 800XP for MSFS 2024.

A bit of history

The Hawker 800 owes its design lineage to the de Havilland DH.125 Jet Dragon project. Before design work could be completed, the aircraft company was bought by Hawker Siddeley and its name changed slightly to the HS.125 Jet Dragon. This early version first flew in August of 1962 and the aircraft was sold to both military and civilian operators. In 1977, Hawker Siddeley merged with the British Aircraft Corporation and became British Aerospace and subsequently renamed the airplane again to the BAe 125. A further ownership change happened when the aircraft was sold alongside BAe Corporate jets to Raytheon in the US.

Through all of these ownership changes, the aircraft design continued on from the early Series 1 through to the Series 700 and 800. The 800 saw an increased wingspan from earlier versions, a new streamlined nose, tailfin extension, more fuel, and was the first corporate jet to feature an EFIS in the cockpit. The follow-on 800XP included new TFE731-5BR1H turbofan engines featuring more power and rated at 4,660 lbf each.

1,720 of the series were completed in total from 1963 through to 2013 when production ceased. Of those, 650 were built as Hawker 800 models.

Included in the pack

The Hawker 800XP is a single, Marketplace exclusive, release for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 priced at $36.99 USD.

The overall packaging is simple with a single aircraft variant, a single interior style (with a classic looking beige, white, and wood trimmed scheme), packing in a half dozen liveries and a lengthy list of features. Those include a feature rich EFB system, advanced avionics (featuring a Pro Line 21 suite by Working Title), custom electrical, hydraulic, fuel, and cabin pressure system, custom engine and engine control simulation, a Boris Audio Works soundscape, and a highly detailed interior and exterior of the aircraft.

Flight FX have given the aircraft significant persistence systems with…