Brazil’s civil aeronautics authority (ANAC) on 11 August announced the approval of the type certificate for the Legacy 450, ushering into service the seventh and last jet of a market-bending, 15-year-long Embraer quest to become a powerhouse in the business aviation market.
The Legacy 450 follows the introduction by one year of its slightly larger and longer-range sibling, the Legacy 500, as well as the Lineage 1000, Legacy 650 and 600 and the Phenom 300 and 100 jets.
From having no position in the business aviation market 15 years ago, Embrear now occupies seven of eight major market segments, ranging from the entry-level Phenom 100 to the VIP Lineage 1000, a derivative of the Embraer 190 airliner.
The Legacy 450 fills a critical gap that bridges the size normally found in the super-light category and performance usually associated with midsize jets. It will compete against the Cessna Citation Latitude, which achieved certification from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) two months ago.
The type certificate for the Legacy 450 was granted after the ANAC verified 1,600 requirements in ground and flight tests. Embraer’s newest jet also benefited from the previous type approval for the Legacy 500, which verified 7,500 test points, Dino Ishikura, ANACs head of the department of airworthiness, said during a ceremony at the Latin American Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (LABACE).
The Legacy 450 and Legacy 500 formed the last two pieces of Embraer’s announced plans to penetrate the business jet market. But both have entered the production phase amidst a global softening of sales in the midsize segment. The timing also coincides with an unfolding economic crisis in Brazil, where both types are expected to compete especially well against rivals.
In late July, Embraer announced that only five Legacy 500 jets were delivered in the first half of 2015. The company had planned to ramp up slowly to incorporate reliability improvements, but the market’s softness also limited sales.
“2015 was not as good a year as we thought,” Embraer executive jets president and chief executive Marco Tulio Pellegrini tells Flightglobal.
But Embraer expects to report a “hot second semester” for aircraft deliveries this year, Pelligrini adds, while expecting much better economic conditions in 2016.
Embraer plans to receive type certificates for the Legacy 450 from the FAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency within a few weeks, followed by delivery of the first customer delivery in the fourth quarter.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
