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| AVflash! Everything Old Is New Again | back to top |  |
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Nextant 400XT: "New" At Half The Cost Of New
Nextant Aerospace says it's found the sweet spot between a good used airplane and a new one with its "remanufactured" version of the Beechjet, or Beech 400. The company says the original airframe, stripped of anything with a life limit (the airframe doesn't have a life limit) and rebuilt with all-new modern components represents one of the best bargains on the light jet market. At $4-5 million, depending on options, West Coast Director of Sales John Frevola said there is nothing on the new aircraft market that can touch it in terms of performance and range. During a demo flight at NBAA in Las Vegas he said the aircraft is faster, has more range and lower operating costs than new airplanes that cost twice as much. "This airplane is 88 percent new. The only thing that isn't is basically the airframe."
The FADEC-controlled Williams FJ44-3AP engines are remarkably quiet in all flight phases with normal conversation possible during takeoff. The Beechjet cabin has always earned high marks for its flat floor and relatively roomy feel. The 400 XT is available in three configurations and can carry up to eight passengers, although three to four is what it's realistically designed for. The new panel is Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 with big displays and all the normal features. There are 605 airframes available to remanufacture and Frevola says the company, which is affiliated with Flight Options, has already scoured the world for the best deals. It has about 40 aircraft ready for its Cleveland factory.
Video: The Remanufactured Beechjet
Original, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos Nextant Aerospace is modernizing the Hawker/Beechjet 400A/XP business jet with new engines and avionics, and they say the result is more efficient than similar aircraft and very cost-competitive.
This video is brought to you by Phillips 66
Aviation. |
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| Engine Test Slows Down Honda's Jet Offering | back to top | |
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The HondaJet Delay
Honda will delay until mid-2013 delivery of its HondaJet after a current test version of its GE Honda Aero HF120 engine suffered minor damage and a slight loss of thrust during an on-ground ice ingestion test, according to the company. The redesign work will push certification of the engine to late 2012 at the earliest, with full aircraft certification to follow. Honda says it expects a minimal impact on sales for the eight-person, $4.5 million business jet due to slow market conditions. In the U.S. there may be other unwelcome fallout as Honda Aircraft announced that expansion at its Greensboro, N.C., facility, which already employs roughly 600 employees, will take place more slowly now.
The Greensboro facility is expected to create roughly 420 more jobs over the next five years, paying salaries of about $53,000 per year on average. About 100 of those jobs were production positions and had been expected to be created in 2012. Honda now says that goal will be delayed, along with as many as 200 other jobs. Creation of component manufacture and warehouse jobs could also be pushed back up to three years, according to the company. Flight tests are expected to continue with the current version of the HF 120, with a second conforming prototype likely to fly next month. The third test aircraft will fly with the new engines. Honda Aircraft's original goal was to deliver its first HondaJet in 2010 -- a goal that was first delayed in April 2009. |
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| Fractionals Fight Back in Tough Economy | back to top | |
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Podcast: Flat FraxFile Size 5.8 MB / Running Time 6:20
Podcast Index | How to Listen | Subscribe Via RSS
The fractional market is a mirror of the bizjet market, but things may be looking up a little for fractionals. AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with Bombardier Flexjet's Bruce Peddle.
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| A Guided Tour of Embraer Executive's Flagship | back to top | |
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Video: Embraer Lineage 1000 Business Jet
Original, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos Embraer's Lineage 1000 business jet at NBAA 2011 in Las Vegas — this is not your average executive transport and compares with offerings from Airbus and Boeing.
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or call (800) 337‑5263.
| Drone Insurance? You Bet! | back to top | |
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Podcast: UAV Insurance on the MarketFile Size 3.7 MB / Running Time 4:00
Podcast Index | How to Listen | Subscribe Via RSS
Insurance is a given in aviation, and insurance giant Swissre is tapping the emerging UAV market. AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with Swissre Corporate Solutions' UAV expert Paul O'Ryan.
This podcast is brought to you by Phillips 66
Aviation.
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| Meanwhile, Outside of the NBAA Convention ... | back to top | |
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Pacific Ditching Caught On Video
It's not often that a video camera is handy at the exact moment a pilot has to ditch, but that was the case when a pilot ferrying a Cessna 310 to Hawaii from California ran out of fuel on Friday. Charles Mellor, 65, told controllers he was running low on fuel when he was about 500 miles from Hilo, about 11 hours after his departure from Monterey. The Coast Guard sent an HC-130 Hercules from Air Station Barbers Point in Honolulu to escort the airplane. Coast Guard pilots maintained communications with Mellor for more than an hour until his engines quit, about 13 miles from land. After splashing down, Mellor climbed from the cockpit onto the wing. A Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew assisted in the rescue, sending a rescue swimmer to fetch Mellor and help hoist him into the helicopter. Mellor was taken to a hospital in Hilo and later released. He suffered no significant injuries, the Coast Guard said.
An airport manager told the Monterey Herald that Mellor bought 151.8 gallons of fuel before departing for Hawaii on Friday morning. The flight was arranged by American King Air Services. The company posted "sincere gratitude to USCG 'Guardians of the Pacific'" on Facebook on Monday, and also said they will work together with the NTSB to investigate the incident and determine a cause. The 310 sank a few minutes after the ditching.
New LASP Proposal Expected Soon
When the Transportation Security Administration proposed its Large Aircraft Security Program in 2008, the response from the aviation community was fast and furious, and now a revised version is expected to be proposed soon. The new LASP should be out in the next few months, EAA said on Monday, and a new public comment period will be designated. The original proposal attracted more than 8,000 comments, most of them "overwhelmingly negative," according to EAA. The new version is expected to have a higher minimum weight than the original 12,500 pounds, and will provide more flexibility to aircraft operators.
The agency spent two years redesigning the program after ditching the original proposal in 2009, EAA said. Industry representatives were consulted for input on the second version. Opponents to the original plan created a website called StopLASP to encourage pilots and others to write their representatives in Washington in protest. In 2009, Martha King spoke with AVweb's Russ Niles about the problems with the proposal and some possible fixes; click here for that podcast. |
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| Opinion & Commentary | back to top | |
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AVweb Insider Blog: Yellville Turkey Drop -- FAA Is on the Case
When the FAA said it's going after pilots for dropping live turkeys in Yellville, Arkansas, we couldn't resist a blog on the topic. After all, how often do you get to use "Les Nessman" in a keyword search string? Paul Bertorelli has the hijinks in his latest post to the AVweb Insider.
Read more and join the conversation.
AVweb Insider Blog: NBAA Notebook -- The Politics of Excess
As of Press Day, the NBAA Convention had adapted well to its 2011 setting -- Las Vegas, the showy capital of excess. But what happens at NBAA may not stay in Vegas, as celebrity and politics share the spotlight in a show of such theatricality that editor-in-chief Russ Niles had to post to the AVweb Insider blog about it.
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| The Top Reporter on Our Crack Staff ... Is You! | back to top | |
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Who's Where? You Tell UsGet a promotion or a new job? Your colleagues want to know about it, and AVwebBiz can get the word out. Drop us a line about the staff appointment, with a nice recent photo, and we'll do our best to include it in our new section, "Who's Where." The items will be permanently archived on AVweb for future reference, too.
AVweb's Newstips Address ...
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 255,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. You're a part of our team ... often, the best part. |
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| Names Behind the News | back to top | |
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Meet the AVwebBiz TeamAVwebBiz is a weekly summary of the latest business aviation news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the internet's aviation magazine and news service.
The AVwebBiz team is:
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