HAWKER SIDDELEY DH 125

Beech Aircraft Corp. began to market the Hawker Siddeley DH 125 corporate jet in the United States in 1970. Designated the Beech Hawker, it featured a center cabin aisle recessed below the level of the floor supporting the seats on either side. This gave sufficient cabin height to allow a passenger stand-up headroom. Such an arrangement was made possible by a wing attachment technique opposite to that used in the Japanese-built Mitsubishi MU-2. The wing spar crosses the fuselage above the cabin on the MU-2 and below the fuselage on the Beech Hawker 125. On later models, a faired auxiliary fuel tank is tucked up below the fuse-lage and behind the wing, simultaneously improving streamlining and increasing range. The DH 125 met with considerable success as a corporate executive transport because of its cruising range beyond 2,000 miles, its ability to operate above 41,000 feet, and its ability to operate from runways that are fewer than 4,000 feet long. The DH 125 was selected for production as a standard Royal Air Force machine under the name "Dominie." Hawker Siddeley continued to build the jet in Great Britain, but its agreement with Beech was terminated in middle of 1975. Development of the DH 125 included a "700" series powered by Garrett AiResearch TFE-731-3-IH engines.