Press Release

Issued by Nextant Aerospace.

January 15, 2015

Nextant Aerospace, a Directional Aviation Capital company, maker of the Nextant 400XTi – the world's only remanufactured business jet – and the forthcoming Nextant G90XT turboprop, today announced the successful completion of the first test flight for the new G90XT. The company celebrated the landmark event with a rollout celebration at their headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio.

“This is a very exciting day for the team at Nextant and our customer base,” said Nextant president and ceo Sean McGeough. “We announced this program just twelve months ago and we are on schedule for certification. We have great expectations for this aircraft and believe the new technology that it offers will be appealing to this market segment.”

The G90XT by Nextant Aerospace is a remanufactured King Air C90A that features the new H75 engine by GE. The aircraft will benefit from several significant technology enhancements including a fully integrated Garmin G1000 cockpit, electronic engine control with complete exceedance protection, single lever power control technology for simplified operations and reduced pilot workload, digital pressurization, all new dual-zone air-conditioning for enhanced ground cooling in warm operating environments along with a significant interior upgrade for enhanced cabin comfort.

“We spent several months with existing King Air operators during our feasibility studies trying to understand what types of enhancements would significantly improve their ownership experience. We listened carefully and believe we are delivering a product that will have a large impact within this market segment,” offered Mr. McGeough. “Like our previous aircraft, the 400XTi, we've tried to take a good aircraft and make it a great aircraft!”

Chief test pilot and vice president of flight operations, captain Nathan Marker, was at the controls of the G90XT for the first flight. “The increased power was very noticeable during the take-off run,” stated captain Marker. “I was also impressed by the lower noise levels in the cockpit. The change in position of the propellers relative to the fuselage combined with the new engine makes for a much quieter and more comfortable flight experience for passengers.” In addition to the G90XT program, captain Marker led the test flight program for the 400XTi. “Like we did with the 400XTi, we will spend the next several weeks running the aircraft through a full test flight envelope.”

Nextant expects the flight test program to last approximately six weeks and anticipates certification for the aircraft in the second quarter of this year. Once certified, Nextant will begin delivery of production aircraft immediately.