Nextant Aerospace (Static SD28) launched Phase II of its Challenger 604XT program on Monday at NBAA 2017, revealing that the remanufactured aircraft will feature a 500-nm range extension and new two-zone layout. In May at EBACE, the company announced Phase I, which focused on a $599,950 retrofit cockpit based on Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion touchscreen avionics.
The flight-test program for Phase I began in mid-September. Options for the cockpit upgrade include multiscan weather radar, XM weather, TCAS 7.1 and, priced at $199,950, Safe Flight's Auto Throttle AutoPower system.
The Safe Flight system has been previously installed on the Nextant 400XTi light jet and the G90XT turboprop. But on the 604XT it is an adaptation to the Challenger 604 AutoPower STC, which Nextant said provides accurate speed control, increased situational awareness, reduced crew workload, greater passenger comfort, a quieter cabin, increased payload and range and fuel savings. Safe Flight has delivered hardware to Nextant in support of system certification planned for early next year. Clients who already have the system installed on their aircraft will be provided with a pathway to integrate the hardware into the Pro Line Fusion cockpit.
Nextant executive v-p Jay Heublein said the company can install a 604XT cockpit in 21 days, and he estimated that a new cockpit, airframe inspections and improvements, paint, interior could all be completed within 90 days, provided nothing extraordinary was found during the inspection process.
For Nextant to source the airframe and provide all elements of the conversion, Heublein estimated the cost at $7 million to $8 million, while completing it on a customer-sourced aircraft would run between $3 million and $4.5 million, he said. He stressed that both Rockwell Collins and Bombardier are full and cooperative partners on the program. Further, Heublein noted, customers have the flexibility to order a full 604XT conversion or have it done in stages as desired.
He called the cabin redesign "a radically new concept" that features a solid door closure between the airstair and the galley to reduce exterior wind noise, a forward media room with a curved divan opposite an entertainment center with a 42-inch monitor, followed by a VIP area with three large single seats, a twin seat and a full-width dining/conference table. "Our research shows us that most of these planes fly with four passengers," he said. The interior also features an all-new composite cabin shell and an acoustic thermal insulation kit.
Senior Nextant executive Mark O'Donnell said the range improvement will be derived from aerodynamic improvements, wing extensions and by increasing the aircraft's service ceiling to FL450. O'Donnell said the changes will enable the 604XT to link New York to London non-stop "all the time," and Boston with Western Europe in both directions.
Nextant is in the final stages of negotiations with an airframe component vendor with regard to the wing extensions, so it is not ready to announce the supplier. "This airplane needs more wing at altitude," Heublein pointed out.
He said the timing is optimal for the 604XT program. "Values on Challenger 604s have continued to fall and make it a very attractive airplane. It's still a relative young airframe with decades ahead of it.
"A large part of the fleet is coming up for significant structural inspections over the next three to four years," he added. "What a perfect time to think about significantly upgrading your airplane, especially when you line it up against some of the pending regulatory deadlines coming up, such as ADS-B. Owners also like to fly this airplane long distances. You don't need a three-zone cabin to fly intercontinental distances."
Heublein said that Nextant is expecting FAA certification soon on its G90XT twin turboprop and that its 400XTi light jet has sold 70 copies into 13 countries and accumulated 300,000 flight hours across the fleet. All three Nextant aircraft models are on display this week at NBAA 2017.
