The 1125 Astra is based on the Westwind II fuselage and tail and is mated with an all-new high-speed swept wing that was produced initially without winglets. The new wing was repositioned low on the fuselage and this, combined with reshaped fuselage frames, increases headroom by 8 inches. Other changes include a lengthened nose for greater avionics space and more extensive use of composites.
The Astra SP replaced the original 1125 Astra in production. The SP was first announced in 1989 and features a revised cabin interior, upgraded avionics, electronic flight instrument system cockpit and some minor aerodynamic refinements.
The latest Astra Model is the SPX, which first flew in August 1994. It has more powerful Honeywell TFE731 engines, winglets and Collins Pro Line 4 avionics.
The first production Astra flew in March 1985.