With the first flight of the fifth Phenom 300 aircraft, tail number PP-XVM, on August 8, Embraer's light jet program achieved an important milestone toward certification. This aircraft, the first with a completed interior, will be exhibited at the Latin American Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (LABACE), August 13-15, at Congonhas Airport, in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Visitors will experience the cabin size and comfort that are unique in the category.

After the exhibition, the airplane will 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.

"The current fleet of four prototypes has accumulated over 850 test flight hours," said Maurício 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.

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 indicated it is on the way to accomplish its design goals, cruising at 833 km per hour, or 450 knots (KTAS), and flying 3,334 km (1,800 nautical miles), with six occupants and NBAA IFR reserves.

The certification campaign of the Phenom 300 should be concluded during the last quarter of 2009, with the first deliveries being made by the end of the year. The Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 executive jets, together, have logged more than 800 firm orders, worldwide.