Pilot Report

Fred George

Embraer loves disruptive change. When the $7.6 million Phenom 300 enters service late this year, it could shatter traditional price vs. value expectations in the super light jet market segment, just as Embraer’s Phenom 100 did in the entry level jet sector in 2008. While Embraer is positioning the Phenom 300 as a light jet, it’s clearly in the next class up from any aircraft within a million dollars of its price tag. Compared to most other light jets, it’s bigger and faster, it has a lower cabin altitude and it has more advanced aerodynamics, potentially delivering better fuel efficiency.

The cabin dimensions and volume of Embraer’s newest business jet almost mirror those of the $9.3 million Learjet 40XR. And while the Phenom 300 doesn’t cruise as fast or as high as the Learjet, it can fly four passengers 240-plus miles farther, it gets better fuel economy and can operate from shorter runways.

Similar to the Learjet 40XR, the Phenom has brake-by-wire, single-point pressure refueling and an externally serviced toilet. Unlike the Learjet, it also has optional synthetic vision, 3-D traffic, electronic charts and XM radio weather.

Such advanced design features are bound to win praise from pilots, but Embraer’s first priority for the Phenom 300 was accommodating the needs of passengers. This started with the aircraft’s signature “Oval Lite” fuselage cross section, a shape that bellies out at the bottom to increase leg and foot room. The Oval Lite cross section also allows the cabin seats to be mounted lower, thereby increasing shoulder and headroom.

BMW Group DesignworksUSA created the interior layout, as it did for the Phenom 100. Early in the program, the main cabin was stretched 14 inches, thus providing greater legroom and more space to recline the seats. Passengers will peer out of the largest cabin windows in the light jet/super light jet class, all of which are mounted to provide passengers with the best viewing angle while seated. The aircraft has five 12-inch-wide by 14-inch-high transparencies on the right side of the main cabin vs. four on the left because of the cabin door. There are two more windows in the lavatory that provide plenty of ambient light, a feature not offered by other light or super light jets.

The aircraft has improved acoustical insulation, compared to the Phenom 100, along with better muffling of the outflow from the air distribution and pressurization systems. Embraer claims the cabin will have a 74.5 dB sound level, but speed and altitude conditions were not specified.

The Phenom 300 is the only business aircraft priced under $12.5 million to have a single-piece air-stair door for easy entry and exit. It’s sturdy, measuring 28.5 inches wide and 58.3 inches tall. It’s counter-balanced with a torsion bar spring for easy closing and is supported by cables when open. Buyers can opt for telescoping rails that replace the air-stair support cables.

Embraer will offer three basic cabin layouts. The standard interior configuration has six chairs arranged as a forward four-seat club section with tandem forward-facing seats in the aft cabin. It also has a forward, right-side galley across from the entry door and the aft lav enclosed by solid doors. In 2010, Embraer plans to certify seven- and eight-seat cabin configurations that will swap out the forward galley for a single aft-facing chair or a two-place, side-facing divan. A belted potty seat also will be available next year.

Unlike the Phenom 100, there will be no pre-set interior decor groups. Customers will be given a full choice of fabrics, carpets and seat coverings to customize their aircraft. There will be numerous cabin upgrades including inflight entertainment systems.

As with the four-seat Phenom 100, the six-seat Phenom 300’s aft external compartment is sized to accommodate a golf bag or snow ski bag, plus a garment bag, a roll-on bag and a carry-on bag for each passenger. Inside the cabin, there’s more storage room for carry-on and laptop bags in a lavatory compartment, plus there’s an optional forward hanging bag locker in place of the right-side galley in the cabin.