Aircraft With Completed Interior Exhibited At LABACE 2009 In
Brazil
Embraer's light jet program achieved an important milestone
toward certification on August 8 with the first flight of the fifth
Phenom 300 aircraft, tail number PP-XVM. This aircraft, the first
with a completed interior, was exhibited at the Latin American
Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (LABACE) at Congonhas
Airport, in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil last week.
The airplane will now be used for function and reliability tests
and the maturity campaign, when important functions and features
such as its single point refueling, externally serviced lavatory
(unique in the category) and low cabin altitude are evaluated and
refined.
"The current fleet of four prototypes has accumulated over 850
test flight hours," said Mauricio Almeida, Embraer Vice President,
Programs - Executive Jets. "With this fifth aircraft, we will
validate the robustness of the Phenom 300 under normal operating
conditions and the superior comfort of its interior, which was
designed in partnership with BMW Group DesignworksUSA."
The first prototype (PP-XVI) has been used for flight quality
and performance evaluation. To the present time, the aircraft has
performed ground vibration, anti-icing system and undrainable fuel
tests, as well as stall, crosswind takeoff and landing, flutter and
high-speed tests. The airplane was also used for the aerodynamic
configuration finalization. The anti-icing system was verified
under natural ice conditions and the airframe is currently being
evaluated under simulated icing conditions.
The second prototype (PP-XVJ) performed water spray and engine
fire detection tests. It was also used for the expansion of the Vmo
(maximum operating limit speed) envelope and testing external noise
and engine controllability, engine fire extinguishing, in-flight
start, fuel system, external lighting, and autopilot - which is in
the final test stages. The aircraft is now in Bolivia, performing
high-altitude takeoff tests. The airplane was also used to collect
data for the full flight simulator, which will be certified for
pilot training.
The third prototype (PP-XVK) has completed flight control tests
and is currently performing all tests necessary for determining
takeoff and landing performance, including the evaluation of
minimum control speeds in the air and on the ground.
The fourth prototype (PP-XVL) successfully completed HIRF (High
Intensity Radiated Field), lightning, cold soak, and external noise
tests. The airplane was also used to validate the maintenance plan
and is now dedicated to internal noise tests, among others.
Phenom 300 Flight Tests
Besides the four aircraft in the flight test campaign, Embraer
is presently performing groundbased structural tests with dedicated
test specimens.
Equipped with swept wings and high performance winglets, the
Phenom 300 is designed to cruise 450 knots (KTAS) with a range
1,800 nautical miles, carrying six occupants and adequate fuel for
IFR reserves.