Embraer has delivered the first Legacy 500 midsize business jet to have been assembled at its Melbourne, Florida campus. The 27 September handover to an undisclosed US customer completes the Brazilian airframer’s efforts to establish a final assembly plant in the world’s largest business jet market.
The Melbourne plant was opened in May 2011 to house assembly of the Phenom 100 and 300 entry-level and light business jets. It is now the sole manufacturing facility for the pair, having produced more than 250 of the 800 examples delivered by Embraer to date.
Embraer
The site was expanded in May 2016 to accommodate the Legacy 500 and its smaller stablemate, the Legacy 450. The first superlight-twin rolled off the production line in December 2016, and a second unit was handed over earlier this year.
The Legacy pair also continue to be assembled at Embraer’s headquarters in São José dos Campos, along with the large-cabin Legacy 650 and Lineage 1000E VIP airliner.
The 46,400m² (500,000ft²) Melbourne campus also houses a completion and interior design centre, as well as a separate engineering complex.
Source: Flight International
