Liberty Aviation, the aviation division of a property development company, has replaced its Beech 400A with a brand new Hawker 800XP. “We had several demos in Learjets and aircraft from the Citation

range, but decided on the 800XP in the end, another Raytheon product. It has a comfortable cabin (with a divan) and servicing is easy – we can fly to Chester to have it done, which is only 15 minutes from here,” said chief pilot Ronald Wilson.

The aircraft is used solely by the owner and his family. “I think there comes a time in your life (if you’ve

got enough pennies) to choose this far more private way of travelling. This aircraft has a range of approximately 2,500 nautical miles and seats eight.

“We’re even considering doing a dummy run via Gander out to the States, but then it would probably be limited to four passengers,” said Wilson.

This particular aircraft has a stand up cabin, hot and cold running water, a flush down lavatory, lots of baggage room and a microwave.

“It’s basically a bit more hi-tech; we can dial in any airport and pick up the weather and we can

file a flightplan with GDC (a Honeywell company).

“From a pilot’s perspective it’s beautiful to fly – it’s got a nice big fat wing on it, along with

being very stable and forgiving,” added Wilson.

The XP is based in Leeds at the Multiflight hangar. “We operate the aircraft ourselves, but if any maintenance needs doing we’ll take it down to Chester, which is an RAF facility.

“I’m the chief pilot – there are two of us here and someone else we can use if we need them,” he said.

Liberty Aviation was named after a yacht owned by the property developer, called Liberty GB. “We never charter out, the aircraft is purely for private use. Three years ago I got this job in the same hangar at Leeds with a Beechjet 400A.

“We kept that for two years and then sold it, replacing it with the Hawker. As a director of Liberty Aviation I got heavily involved with organising the purchase,” said Wilson.