I flew on a $10 million Embraer Phenom 300E and I now understand why it's the most popular private jet in the world
Here is the Embraer Phenom 300E waiting for me at Teterboro Airport.
The Phenom 300E is 51 feet, four inches long and 16 feet, nine inches tall.
It boasts a wingspan of 52 feet, two inches.
Despite its classification as a light jet, the Phenom 300E's aesthetics makes it look and feel larger than its actual size.
Power comes from a pair of Pratt & Whitney Canada PW535-E turbofan engines —each producing 3,360 pounds of thrust.
Hidden just below the left engine is...
...A cargo compartment. It, along with another compartment in the nose of the plane, help the Phenom offer up to 84 cubic feet of cargo room.
However, inside the cabin is where you'll see the biggest changes to the Phenom.
Step inside and you'll come to our test plane's two-person divan.
The divan's multi-tone, diamond stitched upholstery is a give away that this isn't your run-of-the-mill private jet. More on interior design later. But first...
... The divan is equipped with a fold-down armrest equipped with a slot that allows passengers to prop up tablets and smartphones. The Phenom is equipped with high-speed Wifi so passengers can stream video.
In total, the Phenom 300E can carry up to 10. However, our demonstrator is configured for eight passengers.
Looking forward towards the front of the cabin is...
...A small galley with a cupboard and...
...Drinks cooler.
Hidden behind a set of sliding doors at the back of the cabin is a private bathroom complete with toilet, mirror, and...
...Sink.
Shortly after climbing on board, I settled into my seat. The P&W turbofan engines quickly ushered us down the runway into New Jersey airspace. We head north before turning east towards the Connecticut coast.
Here's the New York skyline in the distance. The proved to be smooth and cabin remained comfortably quietly for the entire duration.
Here's nice of Connecticut from the plane as we turn south to land in White Plains, New York.
The Phenom 300E can fly as high as 45,000 feet. From take off until 27,050 feet of altitude, the Phenom's cabin is pressurized to mimic the conditions at sea level. Above that, it's pressurized to the equivalent of 6,600 feet. Most commercial airliners are pressurized to 8,000 feet while new carbon composite jets like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the Airbus A350 are pressurized to around 6,000 feet.
But I was really blown away by the new cabin put in place by Embraer's interior design team led by Jay Beever. It's a great balance of style and functionality. There's also a ton of styling cues taken from the automotive world.
After all, before working on jets, Beever spent his time at Ford's now-disbanded Premier Automotive Group which included brands like Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, and Volvo. Here he is last year during our test flight of the Legacy 500.
A great example of Jay's style and functionality is the diamond stitch, multi-tone seat. They remind me of the last Bentley I drove. But, it's the fine details that really impress. Jay's team was able to widen the aisle by designing a trick carbon fiber fold-away armrest.
Take a look at seat's handles. As you can see, there are leather accents that match the upholstery. However, what you can't see are the soft leather patches on the inside of the handles only your fingers will know are there. There's also a divider that keeps your fingers from getting jammed by the handle. Details!
Here's another example of where style meets functionality. The cupholders are designed to look like Embraer had to drill through a layer of wood and a layer of metal just to install it. There's also a built-in slot for your smartphone.
Jay also subscribes to the thinking that the rapid pace of technological development means it's best to hide the cabin tech to your plane doesn't look out of date a few years after you buy it. As a result, there's a stylish lid hiding...
... This touchscreen that controls the cabin's tech features.
Look up and you'll see a black tech panel running along the spine of the jet. When not in use, the panel goes dark and looks like a stylish strip of glass.
In reality, it's hiding a pair of infotainment displays.
There's also touch buttons that light up when you trigger proximity sensors.
Up front, the Phenom 300E is equipped with a state-of-the-art Prodigy Touch Flight Deck running Garmin 3000 avionics. It's equipped with a trio of interchangeable 14.1-inch displays, a synthetic vision augmented reality system, and reactive wind shear alerting.
Phenom 300E uses a traditional control yoke instead of the side stick found on the Legacy 500.
Here are the pilots for our flight. However, you can do solo flights in the Phenom 300E. It's certified for single-pilot operation.
According to Embraer, the Phenom 300E can cruise at speeds as high as 521 mph with a range of more than 2,200 miles.
The Embraer Phenom 300E costs $9.45 million but, with custom features and optional extras, most customers end up paying closer to $10 million.
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