Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has added FlightFX’s Hawker 800XP to its in-game Marketplace, bringing the long-running midsize business jet to the simulator as part of Microsoft’s Exclusive Series. The aircraft is available for $36.99 and will remain exclusive to the Microsoft Flight Simulator Marketplace. FlightFX has modeled the jet with extensive custom systems, detailed avionics and a flight model based on documented real-world performance.
The Hawker 800XP traces its lineage to the British Aerospace BAe 125, itself descended from the Hawker Siddeley DH.125, one of the earliest purpose-built business jets. The prototype of the Hawker 800 family first flew in June 1983, with production aircraft entering service the following year, while the upgraded 800XP arrived commercially in 1995. The real aircraft is typically operated by two crew members and can carry up to ten passengers.
FlightFX’s version was developed using real aircraft references, photography, video and 3D scanning. The developer also worked with current and former Hawker pilots during development, using their feedback to refine both systems behavior and the aircraft’s handling. The exterior and cockpit use physically based rendering, while the model includes interactive pre-flight access panels, ground equipment and detailed environmental effects.
Much of the simulation depth sits underneath the cockpit. FlightFX has modeled the Hawker’s electrical, hydraulic, fuel, pneumatic and pressurization systems rather than relying primarily on simplified simulator logic. The fuel system includes functional valves, pumps, cross-feed controls and supervised refueling and defueling, while the hydraulic system calculates pressure, flow, temperature and fluid quantity for components including the landing gear, flaps, airbrakes and nosewheel steering.
The two Honeywell TFE731-5BR turbofan engines also receive custom simulation. FlightFX has recreated their digital engine controls, fuel consumption, spool characteristics, overspeed and overtemperature protection, thrust reversers and Automatic Power Reserve system. Individual engines can even develop slightly different characteristics as operating hours accumulate, with those changes tracked between flights.
FlightFX has similarly expanded the aircraft’s electronic flight bag, or EFB, with live system diagrams for several major aircraft systems. It supports SimBrief flight-plan synchronization, Navigraph and Microsoft LIDO charts, weight-and-balance tools and a moving map. The Hawker also includes FlightFX Enroute, a passenger-facing map and information system accompanied by recorded announcements and a selection of cabin music.
Persistence is another major feature of the package. More than 1,300 individual aircraft parameters can be remembered on a per-airframe basis, including switch positions, doors, fuel, hydraulic fluid, de-icing fluid and accumulated engine time. Returning to the same aircraft can therefore restore much of the condition in which it was previously left rather than resetting everything between sessions.
The aircraft’s flight model includes a simulated lift-dump system, rudder bias, custom stick shaker and stick pusher behavior and spring-based wing flex tuned for the Hawker’s relatively short, stiff wings. FlightFX has also expanded its Inertial Immersion System to recreate effects such as vibration, turbulence, windshear, touchdown forces and stall buffet. Its ice-protection model uses consumable TKS fluid that can visibly flow across the wings and must be replenished.
In real-world specifications cited by Microsoft, the Hawker 800XP measures just over 51 feet long with a similar wingspan and uses two engines producing up to 4,660 pounds of thrust each. It has a service ceiling of 41,000 feet, a stated range of around 2,450 miles and a top speed of approximately 525 mph. The aircraft is also known for its ability to operate effectively from higher-altitude airports and in hot conditions.
The Hawker 800XP joins an increasingly broad aircraft catalog in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, which is available across Xbox, PC and PlayStation 5. The simulator has also continued expanding its platform features, including the recent addition of PSVR2 support on PlayStation 5. For business-jet enthusiasts, FlightFX’s new release adds a highly detailed simulation of an aircraft whose design lineage stretches back to the formative years of corporate jet aviation.
