Rock-Solid Reliability: Spotlight On The Nextant 400XTi
This is an abbreviated version of the article 'Nextant 400XTi: Lean Inventory, Strong Value'.
The economic downturn of 2020 has been tough on the light-jet market, flooding the field with used aircraft. But you might not know that if you’re looking for a Nextant 400XT/400XTi; as this is being written, there are just seven offered for sale. These aircraft originally sold for $5 million, or more. 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.
Nextant built the XT from 2011 to 2015. The newer XTi, having a more space-efficient interior, super soundproofing and plusher passenger seats, among other upgrades, sold from 2015 to 2019.
Find out more about the aircraft origin and interiors
The cabin luxury kit offsets the weight savings associated with the FJ44 engine upgrade, so typical BOWs are close to 11,000 lb. Most operators seldom carry more than 3-4 passengers, so the 600-lb. max payload does not pose a significant limitation. Each additional passenger costs about 100 nm of range.
Assuming ISA conditions, the aircraft can climb directly to FL 430 in 30 min., but most operators initially level off at FL 410 until burning down 2,000 lb. of fuel. Then, they’ll climb as high as FL 450. At Mach 0.70 long-range cruise, first-hour fuel burn is about 1,200 lb., second hour is 900 lb., third and fourth hours are 800 lb. and fifth hour is 700 lb. Normal cruise speed is Mach 0.73, but many operators push up the throttles to cruise at Mach 0.76 to Mach 0.78 redline on shorter-range missions.
Find out more about the wing’s drag divergence, wheel brake life and refueling.
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. The latter two inspections can cost $70,000-140,000. Landing gear overhauls are required at 4,500 hr. or 3,000 cycles. Check for compliance with AD 2014-15-15 regarding horizontal stabilizer rib fatigue cracks and AD 2014-21-06 that calls for stabilizer pitch trim actuator replacement. Also peruse aircraft logs to verify that Nextant installed brand-new FJ44-3AP engines, not loaners, at the time of conversion.
The choice depends upon your budget. If you are in the market for a quiet, commodious cabin, rock-solid reliability and 400-plus-kt. block speeds, but you can afford to give up some runway performance, it is tough to beat the value of Nextant 400XT/XTi.