Story ID: AN3
Nextant 400XT Makes LABACE Debut
By: AIN Staff
Caption: 
Word Count: 335
On display for the first time at LABACE, and making its Latin American debut, is the Nextant 400XT, “the world’s only FAA-certified, remanufactured business jet,” according to builder Nextant Aerospace.

The 400XT is an enhanced derivative of the original Beechjet 400A and 400XP airframe. The enhancements include the Williams FJ44-3AP turbofan engine, the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 integrated avionics suite, advanced electronics, including high-speed wireless Internet service and complete custom interiors, “all at a cost about half that of competing ‘clean-sheet’ designs.”

According to Nextant, the resulting aircraft has a cruise speed of 460 nm per hour. “It supports a remarkable 30-percent reduction in operating costs over the Beechjet 400 A/XP, fuel-efficiency improvements of 20 to 30 percent, depending on the length of the flight segment, significantly reduced carbon emissions and noise compliance that exceeds Stage IV requirements.”

It has a range of 2,005 nm with two pilots, four passengers and IFR reserves. This improved range allows nonstop flights from São Paulo to such destinations as Buenos Aires, Argentina; Lima, Peru; and Santiago, Chile. Flights originating in more northerly locales, such as Bogota, Colombia, and Caracas, Venezuela, can also reach North American destinations nonstop.

“We are proud to introduce the Nextant 400XT to Latin America, a market with tremendous potential,” said Kenn Ricci, CEO of Nextant Aerospace. “Latin America’s fast-growing nations, increasing global economic integration and affluent, sophisticated travelers make it a natural market for an airplane with the capabilities of the 400XT, which already is seeing 40 percent of its sales to buyers outside of North America.”

Nextant began production of the aircraft in late 2011, and will deliver its 16th airplane to a retail customer later this month.  A just-completed expansion of Nextant’s manufacturing facilities will enable it to support a production rate of up to 48 aircraft per year by the end of next year. Nextant’s design and manufacturing facility is located in Cleveland, Ohio, at the Cuyahoga County Airport.