The airlines demand automated and simplified systems, rugged construction, and the ability to fix failures quickly when they do occur. And you can instantly see that philosophy designed into the Phenom.
The Phenom 100 is approved for single pilot flight so the cockpit automation is even more important. Embraer's customer information indicates about 20 percent of the jets will be flown by their owners and, as with other light jets, many of those will be stepping up with little or no jet experience.
Embraer has placed the Phenom 100 right in the middle of entry-level business jets with its price tag of approximately $3.5 million. The Phenom cabin is bigger than the less costly Cessna Mustang, and very close in size to the more expensive Citation CJ1+. The Phenom's 390-knot top cruise speed is a tad faster than the CJ1+. And the maximum range of all three jets is over 1,100 nm, and in each jet the achievable range is highly dependent on the ability to climb directly to the airplane's ceiling of 41,000 feet.
In addition to its advanced cockpit and simplified systems, Embraer concentrated on cabin comfort in the Phenom 100. The airplane has what the company calls an Oval Lite cabin cross section with the lower half of the fuselage tube pushed out instead of wrapping around in a constant radius as is the norm in pressurized cabins. The wider lower half of the cabin means your feet rest directly in front of you instead of being pushed in toward the center by the curving fuselage wall. The design provides space for a wide seat with plenty of room for your outboard shoulder and head to remain clear of the cabin wall.
The cabin has just 1 inch under 5-foot headroom from the dropped aisle, and is 1 inch over 5 feet wide at your elbow when seated. That is bigger than both of its Citation competitors and also more roomy than the Beech King Air cabin, which has long been a benchmark of light business airplane comfort.
The Phenom 100 meets or exceeds all design goals set when the program was announced in 2005, including an increase in baggage space to a cavernous 55 cubic feet in the tailcone. It turned out that the systems required less than anticipated space so there is more room for baggage. Enough room to carry two sets of full-length skis, plus four garment bags, four roll-on suitcases and four laptop cases.
The entire airplane looks rugged, and it is with a design life of 35,000 hours or flight cycles, a number it would take a very active business jet flier 70 years to reach. And the design philosophy which follows the best practices that have flowed from the airline industry gives the Phenom 100 an inspection interval of 600 hours or 12 months. There are no other maintenance phases, or steps, to deal with in between, which is remarkable in any turbine business airplane. A central maintenance computer tracks and records all faults in flight. Embraer plans for the computer to actually radio link maintenance reports to its service centers while the Phenom is still in flight so the shop can prepare to replace the failed items when it lands. And in keeping with the quiet and dark cockpit philosophy, the maintenance computer does not intrude on the pilots with messages about problems that they can do nothing about in flight.
The Phenom cockpit is as roomy as any light business jet and more spacious than some. The crew seats are comfortable with a good range of adjustments. The instrument panel is uncluttered and has only a fraction of the switches and knobs of many jets. Switches are mounted in thick, sturdy panels that are fastened to the instrument panel by quick release screws. If a switch fails, the whole subpanel it is mounted in can be replaced in a couple minutes.
I can't describe the initial sensation of flying the Phenom 100 better than to say it feels natural. The Embraer trademark ram's horn wheel is in just the right place, the throttles are just right, and the positive nosewheel steering makes a no-swerve takeoff feel natural the very first time. The stick forces are a little higher than you may expect in a light jet, but easily handled. It takes around 30 pounds of pull to rotate, and the ailerons have a matched level of force for good harmony. I'm happy to say that the pitch trim runs quickly so a few blips of the switch under your thumb cancel any stick force during maneuvering or configuration change. The flight controls are entirely mechanical.
The Phenom is very stable at high-cruise altitude with wide margins for turbulence or maneuvering. Down at 15,000 feet I tried level, steep turns and other maneuvering and the Phenom response is predictable and easy to control.
The materials and quality of workmanship is first rate, and there are many comfort and convenience features developed by BMW Designworks that created the cabin design. The environmental system is divided in two with separate temperature controls for both cockpit and cabin. And the potty in the aft of the cabin is both usable in size and private.
The area of each cabin window is larger than other light jets, and even bigger than those in many midsize jets. The windows are mounted above the center of the fuselage so you can see out without bending, and the available natural light greatly adds to the sensation of space and comfort. Even the potty has a window on each side.
Many airplanes over the years have been called mini airliners, or personal airliners, but the Phenom 100 comes closest to that description yet. The simplified systems and operation, the long maintenance interval with ease of repair design, and the robust construction of the airplane are all lessons learned by Embraer out on the line. But the Phenom 100 also has the right size, performance and cost to compete head on with other light jets.