During an interview at NBAA 2019, Embraer Executive Jets President and CEO Michael Amalfitano said he wants to bring full fly-by-wire to the company’s legacy line of light business jets. Pictured here, is the cockpit of a Phenom 100. Photo: Embraer.
LAS VEGAS – Embraer is looking to make its light Phenom business jets full fly-by-wire, as the aviation industry moves toward giving light jets such a capability, Michael Amalfitano, the president and CEO of Embraer Executive Jets, told Avionics International in an interview here this week during the annual National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) conference.
The next avionics trend is “all about simplified flight,” Amalfitano said on Oct. 21. “How do you look at ways in which we can bring fly-by-wire down to lighter aircraft, moving from [Embraer] Prateors and Legacy [450/500 aircraft] down to [Embraer] Phenoms? That’s an area, as well as looking at urban air mobility and some of the things associated with pilot-less travel. You’ll also see electrification and hybrid propulsion so there’s lots of opportunities.”
This week at the NBAA conference, Flexjet LLC announced it has ordered 64 Praetor 500s, Praetor 600s, and Phenom 300Es for $1.4 billion.
Michael Amalfitano, President and CEO, Embraer Executive Jets and Michael Silvestro, Flexjet CEO shake hands after announcing Flexjet’s $1.4 billion order for Praetor and Phenom jets. Photo: Embraer
If implemented, the order will mark the fourth time Flexjet has introduced new Embraer aircraft to the fractional market. The first such introduction was the Legacy Executive in 2003, followed by the Phenom 300 in 2010 and the Legacy 450 in 2016, the companies said.
“We have a very future state avionics platform,” Amalfitano told Avionics International. “Our whole company has been based on innovation and technology. We’re the first one that brought single pilot to the entry level jet and light jet category with the Phenom family. We’re the first ones that brought fly-by-wire to the mid-size and super-mid-size category with the Legacy product, the Legacy 450/500, the predecessors to the Praetors.”
“Now the Praetors have entered the marketplace, and they have predictive wind shear and future state avionics–a combination of HUD [heads-up display] and EVS [enhanced vision system]. We are leading the industry in terms of being disruptive in the technological attributes of our avionics.”
At last year’s NBAA annual conference, Embraer unveiled its new mid- and super-mid-size business jets, the Praetor 500 and Praetor 600 mid and super-mid-size business jets.
The Praetor 600 entered service in June and has demonstrated “industry leading short runway operations capability,” including landing at the 2,952-foot airfield in Jacarepagua, Brazil, Amalfitano said.
Both models feature Collins Aerospace’s Pro Line Fusion avionics, and Ka-band connectivity from ViaSat.
The Pro Line Fusion package on the new aircraft includes a pilot-selectable display format on four 15-inch diagonal LCDs that allow the flight crew to view a wide range of information such as flight-critical data, synoptic diagrams of aircraft information, and navigational charts. Praetor cockpits also feature two flight management systems (FMS) with Wide Area Augmentation System/Localizer Performance (with) Vertical Guidance (WAAS/LPV) and required navigation performance (RNP) capabilities.