Rodger Foster, ceo and md of Airlink South Africa and private investor, has purchased a Hawker 400XP. “I was looking for a few things, most specifically an investment aircraft. I didn't want to necessarily invest in other airliners because I already have a couple in that portfolio, so I thought that a more corporate, general aviation type aircraft would be useful in various roles,” he says.

In what he terms depressed market conditions, Foster was looking for an aircraft that would either hold its value or appreciate, while also being able to work and generate revenue. Originally he had his sights set on a Learjet, but quickly found that these aircraft and one major drawback: “I've had a Learjet 31A before, and I thought that that would be my vehicle of choice. But when I recognised once again that you can't get golf clubs in the back of a Lear 31, I figured that I'd need to look further than that!

“One of my golf buddies said to me on the course 'I know you're looking at a Learjet 31, but have you thought about the Hawker XP, the 400?' I looked, and sure enough you can get a few golf bags in there if you manage your luggage carefully.”

Foster was eventually introduced to the aircraft by National Airways Corporation. “I had a good look at it, and put in a cheeky offer, and I got the aircraft for a price I was happy with,” he recalls.

Foster is delighted with his Hawker, which will be based at OR Tambo International airport: “It has turned out to be a wonderful specimen. It's been superbly maintained, the engines are looked after under the power by the hour system, and on that basis I think I've got myself a really nice 2005 model aircraft.”

The investor also has a 1999 King Air B200 as a “personal runner” and he has kept that aircraft in pristine condition, having done only 580 hours total time. As for the Hawker, he is hoping to use it for utility in the region: “As an operator, Airlink provides a lot of services to developing areas such as mining towns and gas and oil towns, villages and establishments, in places like Mozambique and southern Tanzania. The African headquarters of a lot of these consulting organisations, equipment suppliers and the like are here, and very often consultants fly in from all over the world to OR Tambo.

“Ordinarily for them to get into a small corporate jet and fly anywhere, they'd have to commute across to Lanseria, and very often they want to depart out of OR Tambo but there isn't anything available there, leading to a frustrating commute.

“Very often we take middle managers and senior managers in a shuttle type of operation. Alternatively we fly them on the schedule, but the top executives want to be a bit more private when there are three to five of them. On that basis they might want to charter a small jet and go directly to the destination. I think that the Hawker fulfils that requirement very nicely – it's got a reasonable range, it's got a good turn of speed, it climbs up to a good altitude and it's quite fuel efficient. Sure it doesn't pack the same punch as a Learjet 31A, but it's not far off.”

Foster hints that he was attracted to the Hawker following endorsement by several NetJets employees, who praised its reliability: “They've got a lot of them and it's a really well-built, solid, reliable aircraft.”

Nextant's modifications are also appealing and this is something Foster will strongly consider: “The one that I won't hesitate to implement will be the winglet mod. It adds enormous aesthetic value to the aircraft, not that it's a bad-looking aircraft to start off with, and is obviously performance-enhancing. From a climb time, cruise speed and fuel-saving perspective, I think that all adds value. In fact I'm in dialogue now to invest in the kit to do that.”