Hawker | International Aviation HQ

Remembering Hawker Aircraft: Britain’s Most Popular Aircraft Manufacturer

31Jul

By Gareth Seagull3 Comments

History

Remembering Hawker Aircraft: Britain’s Most Popular Aircraft Manufacturer

Famous for producing the likes of the Hurricane, Tempest, Sea Hawk, Harrier and Sea Fury, Hawker Aircraft was one of the largest aircraft manufacturers of its time, famous for almost solely producing military aircraft. Despite the death of their co-founder and namesake, Harry Hawker, on July 12 1921 - less than a year after Hawker Aircraft was established, his death fueled the company to push the limits of our technology further to produce better aircraft. Indeed, at one point in the 1930's, Hawker-made aircraft were so good that they accounted for over 84% of the aircraft in the RAF's fleet! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Hawker Aircraft: Sopwith Aviation Company Having had an interest in aviation since he saw John Moisant fly the wo...

28Jul

By Alexander Pask4 Comments

History

Remembering Hawker Siddeley: The Rise (And Fall) of Britain’s Aviation Powerhouse

Whilst a giant from the day it was founded until the day it ceased trading, Hawker Siddeley were one of Britain's preeminent aircraft manufacturers, arguably being the largest in Britain during the 1960's and 1970's. Yet, for most of its existence, Hawker Siddeley didn't produce aircraft under its own name - instead letting its subsidiaries produce their own aircraft under their own name. It was only in the mid-1960's when Hawker Siddeley began making its own aircraft! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Hawker Siddeley: Hawker Aircraft In June 1912, Thomas Sopwith, a wealthy British sportsman with an interest in aviation, established the Sopwith Aviation Company with the help of Fred Sigrist, an aircraft engineer and Sopwith's close friend. ...

Hawker 800: The World’s Most Diverse Business Jet

6Feb

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

Executive

Hawker 800: The World’s Most Diverse Business Jet

Today, the Hawker 800 is one of the world's most common business jets. It is a favorite of corporations, celebrities and charter companies alike, and has been prominently featured in a number of TV shows and movies. In its nearly 30 years of production, the Hawker 800 has proven itself to be one of the most popular business jets, selling over 650 copies. This is more than the similarly sized Learjet 45, Falcon 900 and Challenger 300. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Development In May 1981, British Aerospace, were looking to strengthen their BAe 125 Domini family of business jets. In particular, sales of their famed BAe 125 Domini family had begun to slow. The introduction of newer mid and long-range business jets such as the Learjet 35 an...

Hawker 400: The World’s Most Developed Business Jet!

20Jan

By Gareth SeagullNo Comments

Executive

Hawker 400: The World’s Most Developed Business Jet!

Today, by most accounts, the Hawker 400 is the most overdeveloped business jet in the world. A total of three different aircraft manufacturers have helped to develop the jet since the 1970's! Partly thanks to this, the Hawker has sold 951 copies over a period of 31 years. This makes the most produced business jets in history, ahead of the incredibly popular G650, Cessna Citation XLS and the Global Express family. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Development In the late 1970's, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries began to develop new jet-powered business jet as a step up from their turboprop MU-2. Mitsubishi designated this new jet as the MU-300 Diamond. Mitsubishi would build the MU-300 in the US, in order to fast track FAA approval. However, fina...

Hurricane vs Spitfire: Britain’s Best WWII Fighter?

14Oct

By Gareth SeagullNo Comments

Aircraft Compare

Hurricane vs Spitfire: Britain’s Best WWII Fighter?

Both the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane served with the RAF prior, during and after WWII. During this time, both aircraft served alongside one another in combat, with people often wondering which was better. We recently compared the P-51 Mustang and Spitfire, where we were inundated with requests for a Hurricane-Spitfire comparison. Today, most people view both the Hurricane and Spitfire as some of the best WWII-era fighter aircraft ever made. This is alongside the Japanese Zero, Soviet Yak-3, North American P-51, German Bf.109 and the French Caudron C.714. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Hurricane vs Spitfire: What is a Fighter? The role of WWII fighter aircraft differ greatly from modern fighter aircraft. On top of this, mod...