By Jim Swickard

The Embraer Phenom 300 light jet took to the air on its maiden flight April 29 from the company's Gaviao Peixoto facility. In the coming months, the first Phenom 300, serial number 99801, along with three additional Phenom 300 jets, will participate in the flight test program. The Phenom 300 is expected to enter service in the second quarter of 2009, according to Embraer.

During the one hour and twenty-two minute flight, Captain John Sevalho Corcao and Embraer Chief Pilot Eduardo Alves Menini, who also was a crewmember on the first flight of the Phenom 100, accompanied by flight test engineer Jens Peter Theodor Geiger Wentz, evaluated the aircraft's handling characteristics and systems operation. Flight data was also linked in real time to engineering personnel on the ground.

The three Phenom 300 jets will spend approximately 1,400 hours in the certification program, and a fourth aircraft will be dedicated to the maturity campaign. The tests to be conducted with s.n. 99801 will focus on performance and defining the aerodynamic configuration.

A promotional video of the flight is available on YouTube

Photo: Embraer