Embraer has learned a lot about corporate aviation since introducing the Legacy version of its ERJ-135 – and vows to make further progress
Entering the business aviation market has been a learning experience for Embraer, a company better known for its regional aircraft. Having discovered the "tricks of the trade" over the past three years through introducing the Legacy corporate version of its ERJ-135 regional jet, the Brazilian manufacturer is now defining its first clean-sheet business jet.
"Our DNA is airline DNA," says Fred Curado, executive vice-president, civil aviation market. "We have learned a lot about business aviation since introducing the Legacy, while making some mistakes. It has been very positive in some aspects." He cites the reliability and availability that the Legacy's regional-airline origins have brought to corporate operators.
The hardest lesson Embraer has learned is about the need to provide individual attention to the individual owner, says Curado. "We need to properly focus on an operator with one aircraft as much as an operator with 200." Activity related to business aviation has been embedded in the company's airline operation, but at next week's LABACE show in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Embraer will introduce the senior executive who will lead a focused corporate-aviation operation.
Stronger leadership
"We are in the process of bringing all corporate-aviation activity under one roof," says Curado. "Today it is a fragmented operation, and the interface with the customer is still a bit fragile, but we are establishing strong leadership and concentrating all corporate aviation under a single structure."
Behind the move is a determination that corporate aviation is a natural extension of Embraer's business beyond regional airlines. "We are thinking about being not just a niche player selling a dozen aircraft a year. We are considering a more profound penetration of the market," says Curado. "We are relatively strong financially and we are looking for growth opportunities. Corporate aviation is a different business, but it is close enough for us to build a business."
When the company first looked at corporate aviation in the late 1990s, the easiest way into the market seemed to be developing a super mid-size business jet from its smallest regional jet, the 35-seat ERJ-135. "The investment required was not very big, and we could penetrate a new market with relatively little risk," says Curado. A 25-aircraft launch order came from Swift Aviation, which became US distributor for the new Legacy.
The requirement to provide an aircraft tailored to corporate operators' needs has led to a rapid evolution of the Legacy since its launch in 2000 as a relatively straightforward derivative of the ERJ-135. "We underestimated the challenge of taking an aircraft in this category to market against entrenched competition," says Scott Kalister, vice-president, corporate aircraft sales. Changes introduced since the launch have been designed to boost the Legacy's competitiveness against purpose-designed super mid-size business jets such as the Bombardier Challenger 300 and Gulfstream G200.
Initial changes to turn a 35-seat regional jet into a super mid-size business jet were fairly small, and included drag-reducing winglets, extra fuel capacity and uprated engines. A new belly fuel tank necessitated the much-extended under-fuselage fairing that most distinguishes the Legacy from its regional-jet stablemates, as the winglets are not unique to the aircraft. Originally developed for the EMB-145SA surveillance variant, they were later added to the extra-long-range ERJ-145XR.
Other changes from the ERJ-135 to the Legacy were an increase in operating ceiling from 37,000ft to 39,000ft, and in maximum operating Mach number from 0.74 to 0.8. The engines were switched to the uprated Rolls-Royce AE3007-A1Ps used in the ERJ-145, and the Honeywell Primus 1000 integrated avionics were extended to include dual flight-management, global-positioning and inertial-reference systems, satellite communications and Category 2 autopilot.
Executive version
All the changes are incorporated in the 10- to 16-passenger Legacy Executive, while the 16- to 19-seat Shuttle and 37-seat Shuttle HC also offered by Embraer under the Legacy brand are essentially ERJ-135s.
Despite the relatively minor changes, certification took longer than expected when the Legacy was launched in July 2000. Brazilian approval came in December 2001, followed in July and December 2002 by European and US certification – about a year later than first scheduled. In October 2003, Embraer introduced the first in a series of enhancements based on experience gained marketing and operating its first business jet.
Changes included a 186kg (410lb) increase in fuel capacity to 8,240kg and a 300kg increase in maximum take-off weight to 22,500kg, plus a 470kg decrease in basic operating weight to 13,600kg as the result of airframe and interior weight-reduction efforts. The engine was standardised on the more powerful AE3007-A1E, increasing maximum take-off thrust by 7% to 7,950lb (35.4kN).
A series of aerodynamic refinements trimmed drag and improved appearance, and included a new wing-root fillet; polished wing, nacelle and stabiliser leading edges; removal of windshield wipers and replacement by a rain-repellent coating; main-gear wheel hub fairings; removal of various handles; and better gap sealing.
Enhanced performance
As a result of these 2003 enhancements, the Legacy's range with eight passengers increased from 2,600nm (4,810km) to 3,250nm at Mach 0.74; take-off field length reduced from 1,900m (6,230ft) to 1,710m; and initial cruise altitude rose from 37,000ft (11,300m) to 39,000ft.
Last October, Embraer said it was raising the Legacy's service ceiling from 39,000ft to 41,000ft in response to customer requests, with certification scheduled for this month. "It is one of the most made requests," says Kalister, and will make the Legacy more competitive with purpose-designed business jets certificated to cruise at 41,000ft and above. Raising the operational ceiling required reinforcing the pressure vessel and beefing up the horizontal stabiliser, as well as rudder and FADEC changes, but is retrofittable to in-service aircraft via service bulletin.
A large cabin at a competitive price, courtesy of its regional-jet roots, is the Legacy's major selling point, but Embraer has had to spruce up the interior and exterior to meet customer expectations. "Product finishing was definitely a concern," says Curado. "From the first Legacy to today's aircraft, there is a significant difference in interior and exterior finishing. Five years ago we did not understand the luxury aspect to be as critical as it is. Airlines focus on conformity, the corporate market on fine touches."
The first upgrades, in 2003, included cabin noise reduction; certification of a three-seat side-facing divan for use during take-off and landing; and details such as chrome plating of the passenger-door handrails and chrome finishing of the airstair steps. External seals and screwheads were painted to improve appearance.
Early in 2004, the company introduced a new interior. Changes included a redesigned valance panel, new seats and remodelled arm-ledges, a larger aft galley and an optional forward lavatory. Further cabin enhancements were announced in October last year, and included enclosed mechanical shades for the 22 windows and more-reliable LED lighting with controllable intensity and tunable colour.
Kalister describes the Legacy completion as "semi-productionised". Interiors are built by Duncan Aviation and Nordam and installed at the factory by Embraer. Although several different cabin layouts are available, the forward four-seat club is the same in all configurations, he says. There are interchangeable designs for the other two seating areas, with most customers choosing a 13-seat layout with forward club, a four-seat "conference club" amidships and the three-seat divan and a pair of facing seats in the aft cabin. A flat floor or dropped aisle is available.
Having tackled the aesthetics, Embraer is now upgrading the cabin amenities by offering high-speed data satellite communications as an option on the Legacy. The system comprises a Chelton HSD-7000 dual-channel Inmarsat Swift64 data unit with fuselage-mounted low-drag phased-array antenna and wireless cabin network, providing a 128kb/s connection speed for email and internet. High-speed data capability will be certificated in the second quarter, and will be available for retrofit.
Airline-standard reliability is another selling point of the Legacy. "The aircraft does well in hardship maintenance areas where they need despatch reliability," says Kalister. The Legacy has been certificated and delivered in the CIS, and five aircraft will be delivered to the Indian government this year. US fractional-ownership operator Flight Options has seven Legacys in operation, flying an "unprecedented" 130h/month, says Curado, adding: "The aircraft just doesn't break."
A series of operational improvements have been introduced since early in 2004 to increase the aircraft's flexibility for corporate operations, beginning with approval for a revision to the Legacy's maintenance planning guide, reducing the number of checks to four a year. Minimising the number of structural and corrosion tasks and increasing the interval between routine tasks cut maintenance man-hours by 18% and increased aircraft availability, says Embraer. As of this year, two of the four annual maintenance events are visual inspections only, for a further 5% reduction in labour costs.
In February 2004, Embraer announced approval for Legacy operations at airports up to 8,500ft above sea level and, in October, the aircraft was authorised to operate into London City. This followed certification for the UK airport's steep approach, and required software changes to the aircraft's enhanced ground-proximity warning system and full-authority digital engine control (FADEC).
Operations from London City are based on the Embraer-developed First Principles laptop-computer software, approved at the end of 2003. "Rather than interpolate aircraft performance off a graph, this makes the calculation for every point entered, so we get the maximum performance out of the aircraft for that data point," says Kalister.
The Legacy must operate from London City with reduced gross weight, but can still reach anywhere in Europe and northern Africa, he says. For the future, Embraer is looking at offering a head-up display (HUD) and enhanced vision system (EVS) to further enhance the flexibility of the Legacy by increasing capability for low-visibility operations. "We are lookingat HUD and EVS, but have not made a final decision."
Although the Legacy has not met its original 24 aircraft-a-year sales projection, perhaps because of the business-aviation downturn, it has been a respectable seller. Embraer delivered 13 aircraft in each of the last two years, and production is running at about 1.5 a month.
Increasing importance
With the market for smaller regional jets now entering its own downturn, the Legacy is accounting for an increasing proportion of Embraer's deliveries. The company is forecasting deliveries of 145 civil aircraft this year and next, with corporate aircraft to account for 14% of the total in 2005 and 12% in 2006.
Breaking into a new market has not been easy, despite Embraer's long history in the regional airliner business. "We lose sales because we are not an established name – something the US market is sensitive to, but Europe less so," says Kalister. In the absence of a familiar brand, Embraer emphasises the Legacy's value for money. "If we have a chance to demonstrate the product, they understand the value," says Curado. "But it is tough to sell just on value. Branding helps a lot."
Building a brand will be key to Embraer's next move into corporate aviation – launching a purpose-designed business jet. It is not saying when, or what, that launch will be, but stresses it is in the business-aviation market to stay. "We are fluent in the airline side, says Curado. "We are getting fluent in the corporate side." -
A large cabin at a competitive price is the Legacy's main selling point, but Embraer has had to spruce up the interior and exterior to meet customer expectations
GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC
CUTAWAY / TIM HALL
Source: Flight International
