Embraer's first four- to six-passenger $2.75m Phenom 100 very light jet (VLJ), launched by the firm in May 2005, is now headed for final assembly with the first flight due in the summer. The second Phenom VLJ is already in the initial assembly process.
According to Embraer, production and design planning of Phenom jets are entirely digitised, allowing for pre-production parts manufacturing forecasts ("virtual" production) and a smooth fabrication process. A new plant at Botucatu has been built for final assembly.
The Phenom certification process is well under way with the twinjet entering service by mid-2008. The Phenom 300 light jet development process lags behind the 100s by one year on both counts.
Last year, Embraer announced it had more than 340 orders for the Phenom 100 and 300 light jets combined and also projected sales of 2,715 of this product line between 2008 and 2016.