Nextant Aerospace acquires new facility

At a press briefing, held at
EBACE in Geneva Nextant Aerospace chief executive Kenn Ricci said that lots had
changed for the company since the last EBACE show. The company had just
completed their tenth aircraft remanufacture. The sixth remanufactured aircraft
was on display in the static park.

Ricci announced that it has
acquired a new manufacturing facility for the Nextant 400XT, the world’s only
FAA-certified remanufactured business jet.  The facility expands Nextant’s
operations at Cleveland’s Cuyahoga County
Airport and comes as the
company responds to greater than expected demand for the 400XT.

The newly acquired facility
will accommodate an annual production rate of 48 aircraft. The facility
features a large production hangar which can handle six aircraft
simultaneously, a second hangar for aircraft delivery and completions and a
third which will house an enhanced aircraft painting operation.  Nextant
expects to deliver 32 aircraft by the end of this year, part of a current book
of orders that is around 70 aircraft, with
deliveries spread out over the next five years.

Flight Options have a
contract for 40 aircraft, Ricci said that to date they had four aircraft
remanufactured and redelivered. Flight Options currently have a fleet of
57 aircraft. All will be remanufactured with the remainding 17 aircraft being offered for
sale.

Currently, the remanufacture
process takes around 11 weeks to complete with over 2,000 items and processes
to check and update on the airframe. The company plans to get that down to 8
weeks by July.

Ricci then showed the briefing, how the company had to redesign the engine mount, the new mount is three inches larger then the original and also during the design it was discovered that the new engine had to be moved slightly to give better performance and improve the aerodynamics of the engine.

“Demand for the Nextant
400XT, in the United States,
Europe and elsewhere, has far exceeded our
initial expectations. The demand reflects recognition of the 400XT’s unrivaled
combination of value, performance and comfort at a price about half that of
comparable aircraft,” said Kenneth Ricci, chief executive officer of Nextant
Aerospace. “We are excited to open our expanded manufacturing facility, which
will enable us to increase our production rate and meet not only current but
also expected demand.”

Demand for the 400XT is
expected to increase, especially as approvals are received for overseas
operation. Thirty percent of sales to date already have come from overseas
markets, and the aircraft has completed many of the requirements for final
certification by EASA which when issued is expected to further increase sales
in Europe.

The 400XT is considered to
be a new type in the Aircraft Bluebook. Further options include additional avionics
features and an optional seating configuration that allows for the most leg
room of any light jet in production without sacrificing seating capacity.