With Brazilian Cert, Embraer's Praetor Heads North

The recently certified Praetor 600 demonstrated its distance capabilities during its first flight to the U.S. on May 8, arriving in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (FLL) from São Paulo International Airport in Brazil (GMU). The route spanned 3,678 nm but involved a detour around Venezuelan airspace over Colombia and followed Miami’s distinct approach pattern, an Embraer spokesman said. The super-midsize aircraft was still able to land with NBAA reserves and a six-passenger equivalence of payload (1,200 pounds), the spokesman added.

The trip followed Brazilian ANAC approval in April, a nod that came six months after Embraer took the wraps off the aircraft during last fall’s NBAA convention. A variant of the Embraer Legacy 500, the 600 has a 4,018-nm range and a 3,719-nm range at Mach 0.80 (four passengers, NBAA IFR reserves). This exceeded the original design goals of a 3,900-nm range and a range of 3,605 nm at Mach 0.80, Embraer said.