Embraer has taken the wraps off the Praetor 500 midsize and Praetor 600 super-midsize business jets on the eve of the 2018 National Business Aviation Association’s Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (NBAA-BACE).
Embraer has taken the wraps off the Praetor 500 midsize and Praetor 600 super-midsize business jets on the eve of the 2018 National Business Aviation Association’s Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) in Orlando, Florida.
Embraer says the Praetor jets will introduce unprecedented range into their categories. The Praetor 600 will be the farthest-flying super-midsize business jet, while the Praetor 500 will be the fastest midsize aircraft, capable of reaching Europe from the west coast of the U.S. with a single stop.
With four passengers and NBAA IFR Reserves, the Praetor 600 will have an intercontinental range of 3,900 nautical miles (7,223km); the Praetor 500 will lead the midsize class with a continental range of 3,250 nautical miles (6,019km).
Both the new aircraft — enhanced versions of the existing Legacy 450 and 500 — are powered by two Honeywell HTF 7500E turbofan engines.
The new jets feature the Rockwell Collins ProLine Fusion flight deck with vertical weather display, “air-traffic-control-like” situational awareness with ADSB-IN, and predictive wind shear radar capability. Options include the Embraer Enhanced Vision System (E2VS) with a Head-up Display (HUD) and an Enhanced Video System (EVS), an Inertial Reference System (IRS) and a Synthetic Vision Guidance System (SVGS).
The Praetor jets are currently under development with two Praetor 600 prototypes in flight tests as well as one production-conforming aircraft, and one production-conforming Praetor 500 in its maturity campaign. The Praetor 600 is expected to be certified and enter service in the second quarter of 2019, followed by the Praetor 500 in the third quarter of 2019.