First Embraer Legacy 500 Assembled in Florida Flies

Embraer flew the first Legacy 500 midsize jet assembled at its facility in Melbourne, Florida on July 13, eight months after the first Legacy 450 mid-light jet built in Melbourne took flight. “The aircraft performed as expected and all flight-test procedures were successfully completed,” the company said.

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Embraer's Legacy 500

Embraer's Legacy 500 and its shorter-haul, smaller sibling, the Legacy 450, are the latest entries in Embraer's burgeoning book of business jet offerings,

“We are very pleased with yet another milestone for the Legacy 500 and we look forward to delivering this aircraft in the third quarter,” said Embraer Executive Jets president and CEO Michael Amalfitano. “This flight also marks a key milestone for our Melbourne operations, where we expanded our production facility and doubled our footprint.”

The Legacy 500 is the fourth business jet model to be assembled at Embraer’s Melbourne facility, after the Legacy 450 and Phenom 100 and 300. The Legacy 450 and Legacy 500 are also manufactured at Embraer’s production facilities in São José dos Campos, Brazil, though it said earlier this year that it eventually plans to assemble most of the Legacy 450/500s in Melbourne. All Phenom production was shifted to Melbourne a year ago.

Embraer began assembling aircraft at its Melbourne facility in early 2011 with the entry-level Phenom 100, followed by the Phenom 300 in August 2012, the Legacy 450 in June 2016, and the Legacy 500 this past January. Over the last seven years, the company has delivered close to 250 Phenoms and Legacys, valued at about $2 billion, from its Melbourne facility to customers across the U.S. and to countries around the world.