Posted on January 11th, 2019
The Embraer Phenom 500 prototype will not be able to make its maiden flight by the end of this year as originally planned. This delay is due to issues with the Parker remote electronic unit software in the aircraft’s fly-by-wire flight-control system. The company’s president and CEO, Frederico Curado, described the problem as “softness of flight control” during a third-quarter investor conference call last Friday. Embraer is considering bringing this work in-house to address the issue. As a result, Embraer now anticipates that the Legacy 500 will not take its first flight until the second or third quarter of next year. Certification for the aircraft will also be delayed to the second half of 2013, about a year later than the original plan. However, the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer could still meet its projected 2013 entry into service date for the midsize jet. Despite the delays, assembly on the Legacy 500 supermid charter jet prototypes will continue, and the ground testing schedule has been adjusted to minimize the impact on entry into service. These delays also affect the Legacy 450, the 500’s smaller sibling, which is now expected to be certified in late 2014 instead of late 2013.d in late 2014 instead of late 2013.
Tags: embraer, Legacy 500, legacy 450
