EMBRAER Legacy 450 and Legacy 500 programs advance

Embraer’s development program for its mid-size, 3,000-nm-range Legacy 500 executive jet achieved several significant milestones recently including taxi runs and the beginning of Ground Vibration Tests (GVT) in anticipation of the first flight scheduled for the third quarter. Milestones also include developments in the second and third prototypes. Concurrently, the Joint Definition Phase (JDP) has started for its sister aircraft, the mid-light, 2,300-nm-range Legacy 450 executive jet. The Legacy 500 first prototype began taxi tests, achieving 40 knots and then 80 knots, and GVT in March. At the same time, the Wing Fuselage Junction and the first Power On were completed on prototype #2. Production also completed the fuselage junction of Prototype #3, which will be the first to have the complete interior. The development test benches have also been busy. The Iron Bird, a flight controls integrated test facility is being used to evaluate the equipment and components of the fly-by-wire flight controls, avionics, hydraulics and several other system interfaces, logging over 1,700 hours of tests. The Legacy 500 was rolled out on December 23, 2011. On January 17, 2012, Embraer accomplished the first engine run at its headquarters in São José dos Campos, Brazil. The tests were successful with all functionalities and interfaces operating as expected.