Embraer names New Jets

Embraer has established the commercial names of the newest additions to its executive jets portfolio. The Embraer midlight and Embraer midsize jets have been named the Legacy 450 and the Legacy 500, respectively, forming the Legacy family, along side the successful Legacy 600, already in operation.

“The Legacy 450 and the Legacy 500 will be revolutionary best-in-class jets, building on the Legacy brand, delivering premium comfort, outstanding performance, and low operating costs,” said Luís Carlos Affonso, Embraer Executive Vice President, Executive Jets. “We have signed over 100 letters of interest and will begin receiving customer orders at EBACE.”

The Legacy 450 and Legacy 500 are clean-sheet design aircraft, the first in their categories to offer a 6-foot stand-up cabin with a flat floor. Full fly-by-wire technology will enhance travel comfort and reduce pilot workload. Both jets will be powered by Honeywell’s latest generation HTF7500E engines. Honeywell will also supply its 36-150 Auxiliary Power Unit, renowned for its highly efficient, fuel-saving power generation and silent operation. Rockwell Collins will provide its acclaimed state-of-the-art Pro Line Fusion avionics suite.

The Legacy 500 is expected to enter service in the second half of 2012, and the Legacy 450 in the second half of 2013. The launch price for the Legacy 450 will be US$ 15.25 million and that of the Legacy 500 will be US$ 18.4 million, based on 2008 economic conditions.

The Legacy 450 and Legacy 500

While establishing a new paradigm for their respective segments, the interior of the jets, designed in partnership with BMW Group Designworks USA, will provide unsurpassed comfort and style: a six-foot (1.82-meter) stand-up cabin with a flat floor and an externally serviced full-breadth aft lavatory. These revolutionary new jets will have best-in-class cabin space and sound proofing, as well as baggage compartment volume. The Legacy 450 offers a complete refreshment  center and the Legacy 500 includes a fully-equipped wet galley.

Both jets feature the Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion suite – the state-of-the-art in avionics – and deliver an unmatched level of capability to the midlight and midsize categories, providing extensive situational awareness with a highly intuitive user interface. The flight deck has four 15.1-inch high-resolution displays on a “T” configuration with advanced graphics capabilities. Flight deck standard features include a Synthetic Vision System, Integrated Flight Information Systems, Advanced Flight Management Systems, and full-flight regimen auto-throttles. Optional Enhanced Vision (EVS) and Head-up Guidance Systems (HGS) will be offered.

Honeywell’s latest-generation HTF7500E engines will power the Legacy 450 and the Legacy 500, with 6,000-7,000 pounds of thrust. The environment-friendly HTF7500E propulsion system, based on the proven HTF7000 platform, incorporates the most recent technologies to achieve performance requirements, with improved fuel efficiency, ease of maintainability, low operating costs, and reduced noise and emissions.

Both jets will be equipped with a full fly-by-wire actuation system for ailerons, elevators, rudder and spoilers, which is unique to their classes. The redundant high-speed computers and side-stick control enable a smoother flight for passengers and offer pilots the advantage of effortless response, greater control, increased cockpit comfort, reduced workload, and flight envelope protection.

The Legacy 450 is being designed for a range of 2,300 nautical miles (4,260 km) with four passengers, or 2,200 nautical miles (4,070 km) with eight passengers, including NBAA IFR reserves. These characteristics will allow customers to fly nonstop from Atlanta (USA) to Seattle, New York to Mexico City (Mexico), Moscow to Madrid (Spain) or Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), and from Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) to Bariloche (Argentina).

The Legacy 500 is being designed for a range of 3,000 nautical miles (5,560 km) with four passengers, or 2,800 nautical miles (5,190 km) with eight passengers, including NBAA IFR reserves. These characteristics will allow customers to fly nonstop coast-to-coast from Miami to Seattle, New York to Los Angeles, or Los Angeles to Honolulu, in the United States, as well as from Gander (Canada) to Paris (France), Paris to Riyadh, Moscow (Russia) to New Delhi (India), and Rio de Janeiro to Chicago (USA) with a stop in Caracas (Venezuela).

Both the Legacy 450 and the Legacy 500 will have highest cruising speeds in their classes - Mach 0.78 and Mach 0.80, respectively.

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