Nextant delivered a remanufactured twinjet refurbished to zero-time status
AIRCRAFT
With its 400XT light twin, Nextant Aerospace laid claim to introducing the world’s first completely remanufactured business jet in 2011. The company unveiled the enhanced XTi version two years later.
The Nextant 400XT/XTi is a remanufactured Beechjet 400A/Hawker 400XP, an aircraft that Japan’s Mitsubishi initially designed in the 1970s as the MU-300 Diamond before selling the manufacturing rights to Beechcraft in 1985. Nextant’s jet replaces the earlier Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-5 turbofans with new, 3,050-lb.-thrust Williams FJ44-3AP engines, upgraded Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite and aerodynamic improvements to the nacelles and pylons.
Described as being more than 80% new, the 400XT came refurbished to zero-time status following a 6,000-hr.-manhour inspection, overhaul and component replacement process. Compared to its predecessors, the 400XTi increased range by 40%, improved fuel efficiency by up to 32%, reduced time to climb by one-third and operating costs by 29%, according to Nextant.
Cleveland-based Nextant built the 400XT from 2011-15. The company unveiled the 400XTi (innovation) version at the EBACE conference in Geneva, Switzerland, in May 2013 and built it from 2015-19. The XTi features a new composite interior shell that was designed to make better use of internal volume; it adds three in. of width at shoulder level and 2.5 in. more height in the cabin. An improved noise-insulation system reduces noise levels at 41,000 ft. by 9 dB to around 65 dB, making the 400XTi “by far the quietest in its class,” Nextant has said.
“Due to supply chain restraints,” Nextant said it has suspended production of newly remanufactured 400XT and 400XTi jets. In response to a BCA inquiry, the company said it plans to produce a baseline 400XT with a set of pre-owned engines this year.
Nextant offers a buyers and sellers consultant service to assist operators considering buying or selling one of its jets.
Nextant plans to produce a baseline 400XT with a set of pre-owned engines this year. Credit: Nigel Prevett/Aviation Week
“For 400XT owners who would like to breathe new life into their aircraft, Nextant offers avionics, system and interior upgrades that transform a 400XT into the more refined 400XTi,” the company said. “To further support 400XT and 400XTi owners, Nextant offers a number of supplemental type-certified upgrades such as auto throttles, bleed air upgrades and flight data recorders that are specifically engineered for Nextant aircraft.” The factory-new list price of a 400XTi was $5.15 million in 2016, according to the Aircraft Bluebook. The Aviation Week Fleet Discovery Database this spring counted 62 in-service jets: 28 XTs and 34 XTis. U.S. charter company Private Jets Inc. operated five and Time Air of Czech Republic four.
“These aircraft originally sold for $5 million or more,” former BCA Senior Editor and Chief Pilot Fred George wrote in a 2020 aircraft profile. “Now, the scant few on the market sell for $1.8 million to $2.4 million. That’s a lot of value for a transport category aircraft that can fly three passengers 1,900 nm at Mach 0.70 long-range cruise.”
The 400XTi seats up to eight passengers (with belted lav) and two crew; its maximum range is 1,925 nm, according to Nextant. At maximum takeoff weight (16,300 lb.), the jet requires 3,821 ft. of runway in ISA sea level conditions. It competes for sales against the Cessna Citation CJ3, the Embraer Phenom 300 and the Bombardier Learjet 40/70XR.
The 400XTi cabin measures 15 ft., 6 in. long, 4 ft., 11 in. wide and 4 ft., 9 in. high. Cabin baggage capacity is .57 cu. meter, with external aft baggage capacity of .75 cu. meter. The cabin has a flat floor and a squared oval cross-section, providing more head and shoulder room than a circular structure.
Nextant offered three basic cabin configurations for the 400XTi; the most popular came with four-place club seating with pull-out tables aft and a three-place divan and galley forward. Jets come equipped with the Collins Venue cabin management system, which supports portable media devices and passenger control of cabin lighting and temperature settings.
Scheduled maintenance inspections are 200 hr. for A checks, 400 hr. for B checks, 1,200 hr. for C checks and 2,400 hr. for D checks.
In June 2017, Nextant announced an engine time-before-overhaul (TBO) extension and cockpit upgrade of the Beechjet/Hawker 400XP “to lessen the financial burden to operators” of the conversion to the 400XTi. The program incorporates the Collins Pro Line 21 cockpit with a TBO extension to 5,400 hr. of the P&WC engines for around $500,000. “While we believe [the 400XTi] is the right end game for the Beechjet airframe, we understand that not everyone is able to justify the $3 million required for the 400XTi conversion,” the company said at the time.
“Nextant offers a unique portfolio of upgrades based on the technology, engineering and repair capability that was developed for 400XT/XTi, including JT15D engine TBO extensions, along with PMA replacements for obsolete parts and STC kits for high-failure-rate components such as aircraft’s entry step,” the company said in response to BCA’s inquiry.
“In addition, Nextant offers off-aircraft aerostructure remanufacturing and component overhaul services that are common to the Beechjet 400A, Hawker 400XP, Nextant 400XT/XTi family of aircraft, such as horizontal stabilizer remanufacturing and landing gear overhaul.” Nextant and Directional Aviation sister company Constant Aviation launched a guaranteed operating cost program for the Beechjet 400A/Hawker 400XP and 400XTi airframes in August 2016, offering coverage for scheduled and unscheduled maintenance using Constant’s MRO network and Aircraft On Ground support infrastructure.
—Based in Washington, DC, Bill Carey covers avionics, air traffic management and aviation safety for Aviation Week. A former daily newspaper reporter, he has covered the commercial, business and military aviation segments as well as unmanned aircraft systems. Prior to joining Aviation Week in November 2017, he worked for Aviation International News and Avionics and Rotor & Wing magazines.
