King Air Reborn: We step inside the new Nextant G90XT
Last week at industry conference NBAA-BACE in Orlando, the leading remanufacturer Nextant Aerospace flew in their new G90XT for the static display. Our team was there to enjoy a close-up look at this exciting ‘new’ aircraft – a makeover of a King Air twin-turboprop.
What is remanufacturing?
Nextant’s concept is to take an old aircraft and make it new – stripping down the airframe and improving it, before replacing the engines and adding new engineering, avionics, and cabin comforts for a brand new interior refit. This allows them to offer a ‘new’ and improved aircraft, but at half the purchase price and operating costs.
Nextant’s first foray into remanufactured aircraft, was the Nextant 400XT/XTi – a remanufactured Hawker 400XP or Beechjet 400A. The original 400XT entered service in 2011, followed by the improved 400XTi in 2013. It has been highly successful, both for private owners and, increasingly, in the charter market.
The G90XT: A King Air makeover
The G90XT does the same to a King Air C90, at a purchase price of just $2.2 million. And its appearance at NBAA marked the last stages of its certification process, with final FAA approval expected in early 2017 and deliveries following soon after.
One of its headline-grabbing features is its electronically-controlled, single lever control system – a performance and safety enhancement that’s a world first for a turboprop. The G90XT also has GE’s new H75 engine, along with a fully-integrated Garmin G1000 cockpit.
Compared to the original King Air model it’s based on, Nextant promise the G90XT will deliver a 10% improvement in fuel consumption; a 23 knot speed increase; and lower maintenance costs – due to an innovative fuel delivery system.
And inside the cabin, in addition to a smart and modern interior, it has a new acoustic and insulation package – lowering cabin noise.
When will the G90XT become available for charter?
The Nextant G90XT will become available for charter later in 2017 and we’re expecting it to follow in the successful footsteps of its sister, the 400XTi.
While charter customers want an aircraft that offers the right combination of performance, style and cabin comfort, price is still a major factor.
Nextant offers the best of both worlds, offering an appealing ‘newness’ of aerodynamics and interior (and the aircraft is officially considered as new in terms of its year of manufacture), but with lower purchase and operating costs.
It’s a compelling combination and, with turboprop aircraft already offering a great value proposition for customers, the launch of the G90XT is an exciting entry-level market development.
While we wait for the Nextant G90XT, the 400XT/XTi is already available for charter. For prices and advice on this or any other charter aircraft, contact us or call our expert Flight Team (24 hours) on +44 (0) 1747 642 777.
Related content
Close up on private jet windows
Gulfstream announces the new G700
