First Flight Expected At Mid-Year

When it comes to introducing your first-ever light jet, it probably pays to have a lot of experience building larger commercial planes. Right on schedule, Embraer successfully performed the wing-fuselage mating, and installation of the engines, for its first Phenom 300 last week at its Gavião Peixoto plant.

In addition, the first electrical power-on test was successfully completed on Tuesday, March 4.

"We are excited to see the Phenom 300 program on schedule for a mid-year first flight," said Luís Carlos Affonso, Embraer Executive Vice President, Executive Jets. "The size and elegance of the aircraft, with its swept wing for high-speed cruise and long range, will make an impressive ramp presence. It is now becoming apparent how large the cabin is and how generous it is in terms of space and comfort."

Embraer has adopted what it terms a "multi-site strategy" for the Phenom programs, by expanding the Botucatu plant for preassembly and the Gavião Peixoto plant for final assembly, both located in outstate São Paulo, Brazil. (Hey, if you have to outsource, better to outsource to yourself... Ed.)

The Phenom 300 fuselage was assembled at Botucatu and arrived at the new Gavião Peixoto production hangar, where the engines were installed and systems integration began. The one-piece wing was also assembled in Botucatu, and measures 53 feet, 2 inches (16.2 meters) from tip to tip.

The Phenom family development team, formed by engineering, manufacturing planning, production, and quality assurance personnel, has made extensive use of CATIA V5 software and the Virtual Reality Center for digital design and manufacturing. Computer-aided production simulations ensured the precision and success of the first Phenom 300 assembly processes.

FMI: www.embraerexecutivejets.com