When Cessna executives fly in a Brazilian-built jet, then you know that the Embraer Phenom 300
is seriously incredible. More than a decade after its debut, the Phenom 300 continues to lead the
light jet segment. If you step inside this jet, the first thing you will notice is how elegant
the design is, you will appreciate how it offers flexible, comfortable passenger accommodations,
if you step into the cockpit, you will notice the cutting-edge technology it is equipped with,
which offers a top-quality flying experience for the pilot. Plus, its efficiency makes it one of
the most cost-effective aircraft in cost per available seat mile. For owner-operators, this
single-pilot light jet is staggeringly efficient, cost-effective, dependable, and a gorgeous
example of functional aeronautical design. When Embraer introduced the phenom 100 in 2008,
customers loved it, but they wanted the same design in a bigger airframe, something that can
travel faster, farther, and more comfortable, so Embraer began designing the Phenom 300 in 2009.
This aircraft is designed to “stretch the limits of the light jet segment by creating an airplane
with best-in-class performance, comfort, and utility while keeping operating costs at turboprop
levels.” The Phenom 300 was so successful in that regard that it has been the best-selling light
business jet worldwide since its introduction. The smaller Phenom 100 outshines its direct
competitor, the Cessna Citation Mustang, and the Cirrus Vision SF50,
though the Vision jet wins only in the area of operating cost. No light jet comes close to
the beauty and performance of the larger Phenom 300, including the Cessna Citation CJ3 and CJ4.
When you look at this jet from the outside, you will notice that it is in no way a small jet,
the Phenom 300 measures 51 feet, 4 inches long, and 16 feet, 9 inches tall, with a 52 ft wingspan.
Speaking of interior space, because the design of the fuselage is Oval,
the cabin offers the highest vertical space and legroom along with the largest windows
in its class. The innovative seat designs also allow for a more spacious, wider center aisle.
In fact, the Phenom series boasts 10% more cabin room than the Citation CJ4.
The flexible seating configurations comfortably accommodate 6–10 passengers, with an optional
refreshment center and a full lavatory with a sink. In addition, the Phenom 300 has a cabin
altitude of 6,600 feet when the airplane is at 45,000 ft, which beats any aircraft in its class.
All Phenom 300s are equipped with two remarkably powerful and efficient
Pratt & Whitney Canada PW535E turbofan engines, which produce 3,478 pounds of thrust each.
And because the engine highly efficient, the noise footprint is much lower,
it also achieves better fuel economy, and produces fewer emissions than its competitors.
Also due to these efficient engines, the Phenom 300 has a quieter cabin than its competitors.
The powerful engines and innovative winglet design allow incredibly fast climb rates (up to 3,000
ft/minute). Combined with its comparatively short takeoff field length of 3,209 ft
versus the CJ4’s 3,410 ft takeoff requirement, the phenom 300 series jets really shine in steep-slope
approaches and “hot and high” conditions like those in Telluride, Colorado. This flexibility
allows access to more airstrips in more locations, reducing wasted ground travel time and expense.
The Phenom 300 cruises at a speedy max of 446 knots; the 300E improves this to 464 knots,
with a max operating altitude of 45,000 feet. They boast a five-occupant range of 1,992 and 2,010
nautical miles with IFR reserves, respectively. Originally capable of reaching a showstopping
maximum Mach 0.78, the Phenom 300E increased to a maximum Mach 0.80 with the recent enhancements.
The improvements edge out the CJ4 as the fastest and longest-ranged
single-pilot jet in business aviation while maintaining the power, reliability, and
smooth handling of the original Phenom 300 model. One area they significantly outperform competitors
is in value retention., because they hold about 89% of their value after three years, compare
that to a three-year-old Citation CJ4, which is currently selling for just 79% of their value. In
addition to retaining their value, the Phenom 300 series aircraft are known for their outstanding
dispatch reliability, and they offer comparatively low maintenance and operation costs, offering a
lower total variable cost than the Citation Cj4. This makes it a favorite of fractional operators
like Flexjet, who have lauded the aircraft for its 99 percent dispatch reliability.
The primary reason the Embraer phenom series are better than every light jet in the market
is that it is they are made with the most recent design and construction techniques,
which include composite constructions, which helps keep the overall weight low, keep capabilities
higher, thereby making it more fuel-efficient. In comparison, the Cessna Citation M2 was introduced
in 1991, despite that the Cessna is a workhorse, the Phenom 300 is far more efficient and elegant,
without getting into performance numbers, a lot of people consider the design of the Cessna to be
uninspiring, especially because they feel Cessna could’ve given it a more pointy nose,
more sleek windshield, and also put a sexy airstair to it, but I personally think it
is not ugly, engineering decisions involve compromise- if they made the nose cones pointy,
there may be a compromise in other areas. When it comes to aerodynamics, the gain in reduced
drag count by using a pointy nose might produce flow separation extending when the aircraft is
a bit off-axis to the cone. This can lead to serious impacts on stall and spin behavior,
low-speed performance, and handling. At low speeds in particular, a teardrop shape has the
lowest drag and has the best flow adhesion at a high angle of attack. Also, these aircraft do not
go supersonic, so compressible drag is not really a consideration. Pointy shapes really do not see
much value until the forward speed reaches the speed of sound. Other considerations might have
been more ordinary, that if you put a sharp cone in front, it can interfere with radar function,
cost more to manufacture or have negative effects on weight and balance.
With Cessna single-pilot jets aside, other American light jet builders are not
exactly doing well either, there hasn’t been a recent entrant into the single pilot jet market.
Eclipse Aviation did a great job with the highly economical eclipse 500 and 550,
but bad management decisions took them out of business, the piper jet didn't make it past the
certification phase, the Cirrus Vision jet is great and revolutionary, and I love it,
honestly, I would choose it over the Embraers, but that’s just my own opinion, because in reality,
the Vision Jet only win in the area of Economics, and that’s because it has only one engine,
and because of that, it cannot compete with others in terms of performance,
even some turboprops perform better than it does, the TBM 940 and the EPIC E1000,
for example, can climb much faster, fly faster and farther than the Vision Jet.
Speaking of other light jets, the Hawker 400 has been out of production,
same with the Beechcraft premiere, the production of the Learjet just wrapped up, leaving just a
few in production, and most of these lights need two pilots to fly, and they don’t match
the performance and efficiency of the Embraers. The Pilatus PC 24 poses a threat to the Embraer,
but if they should compete, they will both be like toothless dogs to each other’s capabilities.
Pilatus started work on the PC24 following the success of the PC-12 because they wanted
to build an aircraft with greater range, speed, and the rugged airfield capability of the PC12.
After years of development, the PC24 was introduced in 2013 and rolled out the following
year. The PC24 is more of a multi-purpose powerhouse, designed to take you from gravel
to grass or even more rudimentary runways, it is built for versatility. The Pilatus PC-24 and
Embraer Phenom 300E are two extremely popular business jets. Both are single-pilot certified,
with similar range figures. However, there are some crucial differences. The Pilatus PC-24
is the first business jet manufactured by Pilatus and it has been a tremendous success.
According to the designers, the PC-24 doesn’t fit into the regular light business jet category,
but rather its own new category: the SVJ – “Super Versatile Jet”.
Pilatus gave it this name because it combines the versatility of a turboprop, the cabin size of a
medium jet and the performance of a light jet. The Honda on the other hand is another seriously
incredible aircraft, but it can only compete with the Embraer Phenom 100. So why is the Honda
jet so popular? If we get down to the details, we'll see that the Honda Jet can be operated by
either a single pilot or two pilots. The total length of the aircraft is measured at 42 feet
seven inches, while the wingspan is somewhere around 39 feet, 9 inches wide.
That's pretty decent if you ask me. Speaking of height, this jet stands 14 feet 11 inches tall.
The maximum takeoff weight is about 10,700 pounds, and this is achieved by the two GE Honda
HF120 turbofan engines, which produced about 2000 pounds of thrust each. Now since we talked about
the modest fuel consumption, we should mention that if you were to fly at 420 knots, which is
the cruise speed of the Honda Jet, then you're looking at a fuel consumption of about 999 pounds
per hour at 33,000 feet, but in a long-range cruise of 360 knots at 43,000 feet, it burns
about 542 pounds per hour, now do you see why we said that the jet has modest fuel consumption?
Speaking of range, any destination that 1650 miles away can be reached without the need to refuel,
this makes this jet perfect for trips like London to Barcelona, New York to Atlanta,
Los Angeles to Texas, or Toronto to Chicago. Plus, you'll soar above the skies, because the
Honda Jet has a service ceiling of 43,000 feet. One of the most interesting things that will
catch your attention on the outside of this jet is that the engines are not mounted under the wings,
and they're not exactly mounted on top of the wings either, they're in fact mounted
on pylons above the wing, a configured called Over-The-Wing Engine Mount by Honda Aircraft.
This configuration maximizes cabin space by removing the structure required to mount
engines on the rear of the fuselage. It is a peculiar design feature that the creator
of this aircraft wanted because it offered a lot more room inside the cabin and makes
the jet quieter than competitors because the engines are detached from the body of the plane.
The over-the-wing engine design originated from Germany in the early 1970s, when the VFW
Fokker 614 was built, this was the first plane that had the engine suspended above the wings.
This arrangement had several advantages, such as avoiding the structural weight penalties
imposed by rear-mounted engines, and the potential ingestion risks present when engines were mounted
beneath the wings. This engine configuration also allowed the adoption of a short,
sturdy undercarriage, which was especially suited to performing operations from poorly-prepared
runways. The position of the engine over the wing, compared to under-wing, also shielded people on
the ground from intake noise during flyovers. So, why didn't it catch on despite being so good?
First of all, the airplane was a commercial failure. Second, this engine configuration
interfered between the wing and the engine, and this interference resulted in flow separation,
which in turn limited the cruise speed to M0.65. That's why it remained buried in aircraft history.
People laughed at it, but the Honda Jet design and development team saw an opportunity. They
studied all the issues the engine configuration faced in the past and improved it. Today,
this engine placement contributes to helping the Honda jet get 20% better fuel
efficiency. The Honda jet represents the ultimate combination of Japanese engineering and elegance.
This is a master of short-range missions, perfect for trips within 1000 miles. The cabin of this
jet cabin measures 12.1 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 4.8 feet tall, giving it a total cabin volume
of 324 cubic feet, making it comfortable for 6 passengers. The seat configuration can vary for
the different jets, you have pullout tables so you can get some work done while flying,
and the interior is all leather. None of that is really interesting. The best part about this
private jet is the fact that you have a special room for a laboratory, which is hard to find in
a jet of its size. The baggage compartment can hold up to 9 bags assuming your average piece of
luggage is less than 5 cubic feet. The Honda Jet has a maximum range of 1388 miles, which makes
it ideal for a trip like New York to Atlanta, Houston to Miami, or Los Angeles to Las Vegas.