Orlando, FL -- For the sixth time in four years and at the depth of the worst crisis to hit the business jet industry in decades, Embraer launched a new business jet – the Legacy 650, capable of 3,900 nm range with four passengers with new cockpit avionics and Rolls Royce engines and a larger cabin.

The company presented its new Legacy 650 jet during a press conference yesterday at the 62nd annual NBAA show. The large executive jet category Legacy 650 is based on the Legacy 600 but with longer range than the 3,400-mile original Legacy 600, which entered service in 2002. In launching the only new aircraft program to be announced here so far, the company defied the conventional wisdom of this year’s NBAA where other OEMs are working on incremental improvements to their current lines or enhancing product support as they prepare for the upturn expected after 2011.

Not only did it announce the new program, but it already has two aircraft flying their test campaigns. Certification for the $29.5 million aircraft, is expected in the second half of 2010 with first deliveries to as yet unnamed customers at that time.

What is interesting is the fact that this time last year, in response to a question whether Embraer would hold fast continuing to develop the Phenom 100 and 300 and the Legacy 450 and 500 aircraft announced 18 months ago, Affonso said these programs would keep the company busy. Similarly, just a month ago, shortly before the two new aircraft were rolled out and took to the air the week of September 20th, he echoed these statements.

Consequently, his suggestion that Embraer would now focus on completing the development of its four new aircraft programs, might be considered a little cheeky when responding to a question on whether the company will come to next year’s NBAA with a new program that fills the extra-long-range slot between the Legacy 650 large aircraft and the Lineage 1000.

The Legacy 650 will fly 3,800 nm with eight passengers, some 500 nautical miles farther than the Legacy 600, which remains under production and now has 170 customers worldwide. All all the advances planned for the 650 will be available for retrofit so that the latest technology can be fielded as early as possible, especially in terms of cockpit avionics in preparation for advances in the air traffic control system.

The aircraft has extensive mods such as a reinforced wing and landing gear, larger fuel capacity and new, more-powerful Rolls Royce AE 3007A2 engines. It will have Honeywell’s new Primus Elite avionics suite. It will also have enhanced braking systems to accommodate London City Airport. The modifications do not incur performance penalties, said Embraer Executive Vice President Executive Jets Luis Carlos Affonso. Video: Affonso talks to ATDB about the company's new program

All this is done while maintaining the same interior of the 600, with three distinct cabin zones and galley as well as the largest in-flight accessible baggage compartment. Cabin noise levels will be reduced with a state-of-the-art sound insulation package and the high-speed internet data link has been upgraded to Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband System.

Important city pairs include London-New York or Dubai, Dubai to Singapore, Miami-Sao Paulo, Singapore to Sydney and Mumbai to central Europe. The range is achieved by the installation of an underbelly ventral fuel tank in addition to fuel storage in the central wing box. Fuel load has been increased by 2,558 lbs to 20,700 lbs.The new aircraft bests the 600's payload by 2,500 lobs. Max ramp weight is 49,700 lbs, an increase of 3,965 lbs from the 600.

Besides its longer range, the Legacy 650 is able to accommodate such hot and/or high destinations to destinations as Aspen and Telluride (US), and Toluca (Mexico). La Paz (Bolivia) with its High Altitude Landing and Takeoff (HALTO) capability that allows the aircraft to operate out of airports at elevations up to 13,800 feet (4,206 meters). It will also be one of the largest executive jets allowed to fly in and out of the Cannes-Mandelieu (France) and London City (UK) airports. Maximum operating speed (Vmo) has increased to 300 KCAS (Knots Calibrated Air Speed), below 8,000 feet (2,438 meters), and 45º maximum flap extended speed (Vfe) increased to 160 KIAS (Knots Indicated Air Speed), resulting in greater operational flexibility for busy airspace.

“We are continuously focused on keeping our products up to date and competitive,” said Affonso yesterday. “The new Honeywell Primus Elite™ avionics system for the Legacy 650 and Legacy 600 stresses this, reducing pilot workload, increasing operational flexibility and enabling compliance with future air traffic control requirements.”

The Honeywell Primus Elite™ avionics system liquid crystal displays include XM® graphical weather, video display capability, and Jeppesen electronic charts and maps enabled with a cursor-control graphical interface. There are also coupled Vertical Navigation (VNAV), Required Navigation Performance (RNP) 0.3, Wide Area Augmentation System – Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance Approaches (WAAS-LPV), Honeywell’s SmartRunway™ and SmartLanding™ Runway Awareness and Advisory System (RAAS), and Future Air Navigation System (FANS) 1/A Controller- to-Pilot Data Link Communication (CPDLC) that will help pilots in all flight phases. These functionalities dramatically reduce pilot workload and ensure that the super midsize Legacy 600 and large Legacy 650 have top-line operational flexibility in congested airspace, terrain-challenged airports, and poor weather conditions. The retrofit package for the Legacy 600 will be available in the first semester of 2011.

Two Rolls-Royce AE 3007A2 engines power the Legacy 650 compared to the Legacy 600 with its two AE3007A1E engines. This refined version engine combines an advanced wide-chord fan with a service-proven core – over 35 million hours of operation on all AE 3007 models – and updated Full-Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) software that optimizes fuel consumption during cruise. With 9,020 pounds of thrust each, the engines produce an average of 29% less carbon dioxide (CO2) than competitors’ older aircraft and up to 22% less than current-generation jets.

They also comply with the latest International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Stage IV noise regulations and those of the most noise restrictive airports in the world, such as London City (UK) and Washington-Dulles (US).

“The Legacy 650 inherits the ERJ 145 family DNA for high utilization – 99.8% dispatch reliability in over 15 million flight hours and 13 million cycles,” said the company. “Extended intervals between specific maintenance tasks require less downtime, making the Legacy 650 remarkably efficient. Not only does it cost less to operate than aircraft with similar cabin sizes, but it actually costs the same as aircraft with only two cabin zones.”

The successful first flight of the Legacy 650 took place on September 23, 2009, at Embraer’s flight test facility in Gavião Peixoto, in outstate São Paulo, Brazil. The second Legacy 650 first flew on September 24, 2009, in São José dos Campos, Brazil. Both aircraft have begun their flight test campaigns, and certification is expected for the second half of 2010.