Summary
- The Embraer Legacy 500 was the first mid-size jet with a flat floor, a stand-up cabin and fly-by-wire technology in the cockpit.
- It has a range of 3,125 nautical miles and a maximum speed of 863 km/h, ideal for domestic and medium haul flights.
- The aircraft has a spacious cabin with up to 12 seats, a large baggage compartment, an enclosed lavatory and a small galley.
The Legacy 500, built by the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer, is an aircraft that stands out in the mid-size jet category. It is an elegant and sleek business jet and the first aircraft in its size category to have a flat floor and a stand-up cabin and fly-by-wire technology. Embraer marketed it under the banner ‘Predict the future? Why not invent it?’ Did they live up to it? Let’s take a closer look.
Photo: InsectWorld | Shutterstock
Early days
The Legacy 500 or EMB-550 was first announced in April 2008 and Embraer invested $750 million into the project. The project was somewhat delayed due to the fly-by-wire flight control system manufacture not running to schedule. There were 800 engineers working on the project and the first prototype registration, PT-ZEX, was rolled out in December 2011 for the testing process.
Its first flight was in November 2012 and deliveries were expected in early 2014. After 1,800 hours of flight tests, the aircraft was certified by the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC) in August 2014 and by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) the following October. The first delivery was to a Brazilian company the same month.
Photo: Renatas Repcinskas | Shutterstock
Facts and figures
The Legacy 500 is well suited to domestic and medium haul international travel and flights of up to six hours. It has a range of 3,125 nautical miles or 5,790 kilometers (3,600 miles), making a trip from Los Angeles to Honolulu possible. The engines are Honeywell HTF7500E turbofans that produce 7,036 pounds of thrust each. It has a maximum speed of 0.83 Mach or 863 kilometers per hour (466 knots or 536 miles per hour). The Legacy 500 has a ceiling of 45,000 feet, which it can reach in 22 minutes from take-off.
City pairs and range:
- New York to San Francisco
- Paris to Lagos
- Moscow to Marrakech
- Los Angeles to Honolulu
Photo: Jordan Tan | Shutterstock
In the cockpit
The aircraft has the Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics suite, which reduces pilot workload and has better control. It has four displays and has an integrated flight management system and weather radar. The fly-by-wire flight control system is by Parker Hannifin and has side stick controls. Some Legacy 500 also have the Enhanced Flight Vision System (EFVS) with Head-Up Display (HUD) and infrared camera, which improves situational awareness. This was an additional option that could be added.
Photo: Elite Jets
The interior
The cabin seats up to 12 passengers, depending on the configuration. Most Legacy 500 have a traditional layout of 6 club seats with a three-seat divan, that can be made into a bed. The cabin is spacious and has a height of six feet. There is a small washroom with an enclosed lavatory (with a seatbelt) which can also be used as an extra seat if necessary.
The aircraft has an airshow and entertainment system, a satellite phone and Wi-Fi connectivity. There is a large baggage compartment that can take up to 14 standard suitcases and can be accessed from the cabin. A small galley allows for drinks and meal preparation and has a microwave and oven.
Aircraft specifications:
(Data from Globalair)
Exterior
- Exterior Height: 21 ft 2 in
- Wing Span: 66 ft 5 in
- Length: 68 ft 1 in
Interior
- Cabin Height: 6 ft 0 In
- Cabin Width: 6 ft 10 In
- Cabin Length: 27 ft 6 In
- Cabin Volume: 826 cu ft
- Internal Baggage: 155 cu ft
Occupancy
Operating Weights
- Max T/O Weight: 38360 Lb
- Max Landing Weight: 34524 Lb
- Operating Weight: 23437 Lb
- Fuel Capacity: 13146 lbs Lb
- Payload W/Full Fuel: 1600 Lb
- Max Payload: 2800 Lb
Range
- Normal Range: 2948 nm
- Max Range: 3125 nm
- Service Ceiling: 45000 ft
Performance
- Max Speed: 466 kts
- Avionics: Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion
- Engines: 2 x Honeywell HTF7500E
Current usage of the aircraft
The aircraft was built to be in competition with the Cessna Citation X, the Bombardier Challenger 350 and the Gulfstream G280. It is estimated that 70% of all the Legacy 500 built are utilized in the United States. Owners include Fortune 1000 companies and UHNWIs as well as charter operators. The average mission for the aircraft is flights of under two hours. A private owner will fly between 150 and 200 hours per year, whereas an operator will use the aircraft for charter for up to 700 hours per year.
Aircraft deliveries:
|
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
Total |
|
|
Legacy 500 |
3 |
20 |
21 |
15 |
9 |
11 |
1 |
80 |
Embraer ceased production of the aircraft in 2020 to concentrate on the Phenom 100EX, 300E and the Praetor 500 and 600. By this time, 80 of the aircraft had been built. It originally sold for $18.4 million. A pre-owned Legacy 500 can be bought for between $16.5 and $19 million and to charter one would cost around $5,000 per hour, according to Jet Finder.