Embraer Delivers First Florida-assembled Legacy 500

Embraer Executive Jets recently delivered the first midsize Legacy 500 that was assembled at its recently expanded Melbourne, Florida, plant. The facility assembles all Phenoms and some Legacy 450/500s, with the remainder of the midsize jets produced at Embraer’s headquarters in São José dos Campos, Brazil.

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Embraer to Assemble Bulk of Legacy 450/500s in Florida

This would mirror the decision announced in 2015 that it would assemble all Phenoms at the Melbourne, Florida plant.

Besides the Legacy 500, which was delivered to an undisclosed U.S. customer, the Florida facility has assembled and delivered two Legacy 450s and nearly 260 Phenoms. Embraer has delivered nearly 800 Phenoms and 70 Legacy 450/500s so far. A second Legacy 500 is nearing completion at the Melbourne plant and will be delivered in early December, while a third Legacy 500 will start moving down the production line next week, Embraer Executive Jets managing director and COO Phil Krull told BJT sister publication Aviation International News.

The Florida assembly expansion was completed in May of last year, adding Legacy 450/500 production to the existing Phenom 100/300 line. It more than doubled the size of the facility, to 149,000 square feet (124,600 sq m), allowing the Legacy 450/500 and Phenom 100/300 lines to be side-by-side under one roof. The first Legacy 450 started rolling down the line on May 16, 2016.

An adjoining 31,000-square-foot (25,920-sq-m) completion center/flight-prep building—which, unlike the previous flight-prep area, has a fire-suppression system to accommodate fueled aircraft—has been in operation since last June. A separate two-bay paint facility, which has provisions for a robotic painter, and two-bay delivery center for the Legacy midsize jets was completed late last year. The campus also houses a customer center complete with an interior-design center and Phenom delivery bays, as well as a separate engineering complex.