Do228 NXT makes show debut at ILA

First example of latest generation of twin-turboprop due to be handed over to customer shortly after event

The Do228 NXT is making its air show debut at ILA in Berlin this week, days after General Atomics AeroTec Systems (GA-ATS) rolled-out the latest variant of the short take-off and landing utility twin-turboprop.

The US manufacturer describes the Do228 NXT as a “new, versatile aircraft that will have a significant impact on the turboprop and special mission aviation markets”.

GA-ATS claims the 8 June reveal in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich marked “the first time in many years a new series of aircraft manufactured in Germany had been unveiled”.

Deutsche Aircraft, however, last year, held a roll-out ceremony for another reworked version of a former Dornier transport, the D328eco.

Parent General Atomics acquired the rights to the Do228 NXT in 2021 from Swiss company RUAG, which had offered a previous iteration of the aircraft as the Do228 NG.

Changes to the original Do228 include the addition of a Universal EFI-890R four-screen avionics suite.

The first customer example of the Honeywell TPE331-10-powered Do228 NXT – which does not require re-certification – is due to be handed over this summer to an unnamed European operator.

GA-ATS plans to build five Do228 NXTs annually and says the first five years of production are sold out, with government entities representing about 70% of orders.

The original Do228 was built by Dornier from 1981 to 1998, with about 245 aircraft produced in Oberpfaffenhofen and a further 125 by Hindustan Aeronautics under licence in India.