On a warm morning in the Texas hill country about 70 miles west of San Antonio, Mark Huffstutler pushed the thrust levers forward and launched a re-engined Hawker Beechcraft 400XPR into the cloudy skies. The first flight on May 3 was the culmination of 14 months of engineering and mechanical work, much of it done by Huffstutler’s Sierra Industries, a modification shop located at Garner Field Airport in Uvalde, Texas. The Hawker 400XPR is the second major modification program that Hawker Beechcraft Global Customer Support has launched; the first was the 800XPR upgrade. These represent a key strategy by Hawker Beechcraft, to bring new value to airframes that are going to last a long time and can help the company earn new sources of revenue. (A competing Beechjet/Hawker 400 Williams engine and avionics upgrade is available from Nextant Aerospace.)
The 400XPR’s main upgrade swaps the original 3,000-pound-thrust Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D engines for Fadec-controlled 3,600-pound Williams International FJ44-4A-32s (flat-rated to 3,200 pounds). The two other 400XPR upgrades are Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics and Hawker Beechcraft-designed winglets, and each of the mods can be purchased individually or in combination.
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