Embraer announced that its newest design—the Legacy 450—has earned FAA certification. The Aug. 31 announcement followed the Legacy 450’s Brazilian certification, which occurred during the Latin American Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition on Aug. 11.
The Legacy 450 joins Embraer’s Legacy 500 as the company’s midsized offerings. Like the Legacy 500, the Legacy 450 employs digital fly-by-wire flight controls, and has Rockwell Collins’ Pro Line Fusion avionics. The airplane is powered by twin Honeywell HTF7500E turbofans, each rated at 6,080 pounds static thrust. It’s capable of flying 2,575 nautical miles at long range cruise power settings, and 2,511 nm when flying at Mach 0.80. Payload with full fuel is listed as 1,627 pounds. Embraer said in a press release that the Legacy 450 can fly nonstop from city pairs such as Los Angeles to Boston, Moscow to New Delhi, or Singapore to Shanghai.
Embraer is quick to note that the Legacy 450 beat many of its originally anticipated design goals. These include not just the range figures, but takeoff and landing distances, time to climb, and maximum payload.
The Legacy 450, which Embraer calls a midlight business jet, has a six-foot-high cabin with a flat floor, and is capable of accommodating up to nine passengers. Berthable, fully articulating forward club seating for four passengers is a major feature of the available seating options. The company says its cabin cross-section, at six feet, 10 inches, is “five inches wider than its nearest competitor.” An entertainment system and voice and data communications are available options, but a forward refreshment center and aft, externally serviced vacuum toilet are standard.
The average equipped price of the Legacy 450 is $16.5 million. Deliveries should begin in the fourth quarter of 2015. Look for a pilot report on the Legacy 450 in an upcoming issue of AOPA Pilot’s Turbine Pilot edition.
Thomas A. Horne
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