Embraer is showing off its range at this year’s NBAA by launching a new interior and performance upgrades for its mid-light Legacy 450 offering and its ultra-large business jet, which will be shown on the static as a new version known as the Lineage 1000E.
The Legacy 450’s maximum range will increase from 2,300nm (4,300km) to 2,500nm with four passengers and two pilots, allowing the aircraft to travel between Teterboro and Los Angeles and between New Delhi and Beijing.
Embraer will unveil a mock-up of the nine-passenger aircraft with a new interior in the convention hall ahead of its planned entry into service for the first half of 2015.The increased range will put the aircraft head to head with Cessna’s in-development mid-size Citation Latitude jet, which will carry a maximum of eight passengers.
The Brazilian airframer is also taking the Lineage 1000E further, announcing at the show increased range from 4,400nm to 4,600nm with eight passengers at Mach 0.78. This opens up the aircraft to comfortably fly from Teterboro to Shannon, Ireland and Los Angeles which were considered marginal under the previous profile. The manufacturer says this range increase has been increased with keeping the Linage 1000’s same forward and aft auxiliary fuel tanks that provide the aircraft a total fuel capacity of 48,208lb.
Embraer is also giving both aircraft a makeover and introducing the latest interiors. The airframer has lengthened the cabin of the Legacy 450 by 6in to a roomier 24ft (7.31m) by lengthening the aircraft’s fuselage throughout the design process. This provides room to extend the seat pitch for the back seats by 4in in to 46in and adds an additional 2in between seats in the front of the aircraft.
To increase the range of the Lineage 1000E, Embraer has shed 500lb from the aircraft’s basic weight via structural changes, such as tailoring the fuselage supports to the VIP airframe and optimizing the design of the aircraft’s wire harness. The new version’s fuselage also plugs 12-13 “mirage” windows that were previously cut out of the fuselage, giving the aircraft an exterior appearance that clearly marks the aircraft as a private jet.
Embraer has also partnered with interiors supplier to provide some improvements to the interior, such as new side ledges and monuments, galley features and a redesigned lavatory.
Embraer is also the launch customer for Rockwell Collins’ new enhanced vision system (EVS), the EVS-3000. The airframer will feature the system on the Legacy 450 and 500, with entry into service in 2015. The EVS system has the ability to see the full spectrum of LED lights that are becoming more commonly used at airports to illuminate runways and will eventually overlay synthetic vision on top of the EVS view.
Check out the latest news and views from this year's NBAA
Source: Flight Daily News
