Embraer Legacy 650 Assembled in China Makes First Flight

Harbin Embraer Aircraft (HEAI) has announced that the first Legacy 650 large executive jet assembled in China has successfully completed its maiden test flight.

 

The first Legacy 650 is scheduled for delivery by the end of this year.

 

HEAI is a joint venture between Embraer and Aviation Industry Corp. of China (AVIC).

 

During the 2-1/2 hour test flight, Embraer's test pilots evaluated the aircraft handling and performance characteristics, as well as flight control, communication, and navigation systems.

 

“Today's achievement is the fruit of Brazil-Sino collaboration and the hard work of all parties concerned,” says Yuri Capi, President of HEAI. “The maiden flight is of special significance to HEAI, as it demonstrates to the market that HEAI is fully capable and ready to offer customers high-quality executive jets assembled here in China.”

 

The Legacy 650, which completed its maiden flight in September 2009 and entered into service in late-2010, is a longer-range version of the Legacy 600.

 

The aircraft features flight deck that is equipped with a Honeywell Primus Elite avionics suite, the largest in-flight-accessible baggage compartment and lavatory in its category.

 

It has a range of 7,223km and can accommodate up to 14 passengers in three distinctive spacious cabins with up-to-date features such as an entertainment system and high-speed Internet access.

 

Embraer delivered the first Legacy 650 jetliner to the Chinese market in February 2012, and since then, the aircraft has logged 21 firm orders and five options.

 

The company stated that in order to provide efficient customer support, it is continuing to build its customer service network with several service centers authorized for executive jets customer services in the Greater China region.