Embraer’s True Legacy

By Shereen Shabnam

The Legacy business jet program was a pioneering moment for Embraer. The incisiveness of Embraer’s decision to enter the business aviation sector came from a deep appreciation of the market’s needs and Embraer continually strives to meet and beat its customers’ expectations.

Utilizing a regional jet platform that powered the company’s unprecedented success after privatization, the aircraft first known as the Legacy Executive and later the Legacy 600 marked Embraer’s bold expansion into business aviation and established it as a true leader in aerospace.

Legacy is a testament to the aircraft’s role in establishing Embraer Executive Jets reflected in the brand’s expertise in reliability, customer support, innovation and design. Embraer has since built a reputation as the most innovative manufacturer of business jets with best-in-class aircrafts from the entry-level sector through to the ultra-long-haul market.

The singular versatility of Embraer’s Legacy 600 and Legacy 650 combined with a superior customer support has proven to be a success as a result of Embraer’s unceasing commitment to excellence and the company’s dedication to constant improvement, elements that are clearly manifest in the manufacturer’s latest business jet, the Legacy 650E.

The new Legacy 650E is an aircraft that optimizes the design characteristics of the super midsize Legacy 600 with the range of the large-cabin Legacy 650 while elevating the value to customers by adding cutting-edge avionics upgrades.

Corporations recognise the benefit of the Legacy’s rich commercial heritage by configuring the aircraft as a high-capacity Shuttle for the same price as much smaller, less adaptable business jet. And Embraer understands the importance of the passenger experience to the business aviation community and from its first aircraft illustrated that the passengers’ expectation would be exceeded.

The clean design of the Legacy 650’s state-of-the-art cabin accommodates any mission, and all three zones provide berthing capabilities to accommodate flights that can last more than nine hours. Embraer’s Legacy 650 also delivers a steep approach capability that opens key airports such as London City as well as a hot and high performance that gives operators almost unfettered access to some of the most remote airports around the world.

To accommodate intercontinental travel, the Legacy 650 offers a generous, fully equipped galley recently redesigned to accommodate a convention oven and microwave, coffee and espresso makers, a refrigerator and ice drawer, and the finest crockery, silverware and crystal from Bernardaud and Christofle. The spacious galley provides abundant storage, ample work surfaces and a noise reducing privacy screen that is ideal for long-haul flights.

And as Embraer Executive Jets celebrated its first decade, the company’s product line was further enhanced with the launch of the innovative Legacy 450 and Legacy 500, aircraft that introduced technologies such as fly-by-wire and enhanced flight vision systems to the mid-light and midsize segments, without the high costs and weight restrictions normally associated with such systems.

Reinforcing Embraer’s commitment to constant improvement, the new Legacy 650E is equipped with an upgraded Primus Elite Advanced Features avionics suite that offers, as standard, Synthetic Vision and autothrottle, the two upgrades most requested by current Legacy 650 operators.

Primus Elite Advanced Features also replaces the cathode ray tube primary flight displays with more reliable and capable liquid crystal displays. With the addition of these LCD screens and two Apple iPads as Electronic Flight Bags, the Legacy 650E delivers an even safer, user-friendly cockpit and future-proof environment that improves situational awareness and reduces pilot workload.

Autothrottle, too, has become a significant tool for improved safety. A technologically intricate system, autothrottle automatically controls airspeed through all phases of flights, from takeoff to touchdown, monitoring for changes in the environment to maintain optimum power.

By adding these new performance standards while retaining the robustness, comfort, unmatched dispatch reliability and premium residual value of its predecessors, all at an attractive price, the Legacy 650E exemplifies Embraer’s continued commitment to its customers and the super midsize and large-cabin segments, and reinforces the manufacturer as a leading innovator in the business aviation community.