The Embraer Phenom 300 is a well-known and popular light business jet. It has been the best-selling business jet over the past decade or longer. With almost 800 now delivered. It was also the most flown private jet in the US in 2023 (according to Bloomberg’s analysis), taking over from the Cessna Citation Excel.
It was introduced in 2009, with an updated Phenom 300E coming in 2018 (certified in 2020). The Phenom 300 introduced many upgrades and changes from the earlier Phenom 100, and sets itself apart from competing jets in the same category in a number of ways. We look here at a few of these defining features of the aircraft.
1 The Phenom 300 is a new clean-sheet design from Embraer
It is based on the Phenom 100, but with significant differences
The original concept for the Phenom 300 came from customer demand for a larger version of the very light business jet Phenom 100 (pictured below). Plans for a simple stretch of the Phenom 100 were quickly dropped, with Embraer opting for a new design.
Photo: Austin Deppe | Shutterstock
The Phenom 300 added new engines (Pratt & Whitney Canada PW525E), spoilers, winglets, and a movable horizontal stabilizer, and a larger cabin. The increased cabin size offers capacity for up to 10 passengers – although six to eight is more common. This is up from a maximum of seven on the Phenom 100.
Photo: Photosbypatrik | Shutterstock
It also features a more composite fuselage construction. The fuselage has an 18% composite material construction. This gives the aircraft a higher operating altitude (service ceiling of 45,000 feet) which increases lifespan. Overall, the airframe is rated for a lifespan of 28,000 flight cycles or 35,000 flight hours.
Related
What’s The Difference Between The Embraer Phenom 300 & The 300E?
The Phenom 300, which began life as the bigger brother of the Phenom 100, has been upgraded twice, resulting in the current Phenom 300E.
2 It offers many cabin improvements
The Phenom 300 Bossa Nova cabin design won a major award in 2020
It is not just design and technical improvements that the Phenom 300 offers. Embraer has also learned from previous cabin design and developed award-winning interiors for this aircraft. It offers a well-designed cabin, with some of the largest windows in the category.
The updated Phenom 300E has several cabin designs available. One of these – the Bossa Nova option – won the International Yacht & Aviation Award in the small/medium jet design category in 2020.
Photo: Embraer
According to Embraer, this includes the following features:
- Piano black surface and carbon fibre accents
- Ipanema sew style (inspired by the Brazilian jazz scene)
- 4G connectivity via Gogo AVANCE L5
3 The Phenom 300 is rated for single pilot operations
Operating with one pilot reduces cost and increases capacity
The Embraer Phenom 300 is the fastest and longest-ranged single-pilot aircraft in the world. Like larger aircraft, most business jets are certified to operate with two pilots, providing redundancy in case of emergency. Some smaller jets, however, are certified (under Part 91 or Part 135 regulations) to be flown by a single pilot. This reduces operating costs significantly.
Other aircraft that are rated for single pilot operations are typically lower capacity – including the Cirrus Vision Jet SF50, the HondaJet Elite II, and the Pilatus PC-24.
Related
Flying Solo: 5 Different Single Pilot Jets
Contrary to natural instinct, some business jets can be flown by a single pilot.
The Phenom 300 aircraft has a standard cockpit layout for two pilots – featuring three 12-inch Garmin displays, and two traditional control yokes. It can, however, be safely flown by just one pilot. As well as reducing cost, this allows one additional passenger to be carried in the cockpit seat.
Photo: Embraer
4
5 It is equipped with the latest avionics
Continuous upgrades have kept the Phenom 300 at the forefront
Avionics are critical to the Phenom 300’s single pilot rating. The aircraft is fitted with the Garmin G3000 Flight Management System (FMS), which is designed to minimize workload as much as possible. The intuitive system streamlines flight operations, maximizing productivity and reducing workload for the pilot.
Photo: Embraer
Several updates in recent years have kept the type at the forefront of modern avionics for its category. Avionics features available on the latest models include:
- Predictive wind shear awareness. This enables the aircraft to detect and anticipate potential wind shear hazards before they occur.
- Synthetic Vision System (SVS). This is a feature that integrates three-dimensional data into user-friendly displays, enhancing situational awareness for flight crews.
- Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS II).
- Emergency descent mode.
- Runway overrun awareness, and an alerting system (ROAAS). This provides pilots with real-time alerts to help prevent runway overrun during landing. The Phenom 300E is the first business jet in the industry to offer ROAAS.
- Autothrottle feature. This is being added from the third quarter of 2024.
Related
Most-Flown Business Jet: 5 Unique Features In The Embraer Phenom 300’s Cockpit
The jet is the fastest and longest-range single-pilot aircraft in the world
6 The Phenom 300 has one of the highest speeds for its category
It reaches speeds of up to Mach 0.80
Its Pratt & Whitney Canada PW535 turbofan engines help the aircraft achieve one of the top maximum speeds in this category. The movable horizontal stabilizer was introduced in the upgrade from the Phenom 100 to handle these higher speeds.
- The maximum speed is 464 knots (534 miles per hour).
- The typical cruise speed is 453 knots (521 miles per hour).
Related
What Is The Top Speed Of The Embraer Phenom 300?
The Embraer Phenom 300 is a famous small jet manufactured by the Brazilian manufacturer of the same name.
It also offers a competitive range for the category – of approximately 2,010 nautical miles (2,723 kilometers) – this is as quoted by Embraer, with five occupants and fuel reserves. The aircraft also has the ability to take off and land on shorter runways, including small commuter airports like London City Airport (LCY) and Telluride Regional Airport (TEX).
This package of capacity, speed, and range has proved very popular with owners and operators. Jets in the small and mid-range categories are closely matched, and Embraer has got the specifications right for the Phenom 300, making it the best-selling jet for over 12 years.
Photo: VanderWolf Images | Shutterstock
The luxury lifestyle publication Robb Report summarizes this well in its analysis of the aircraft, saying:
It’s easy to see why the Phenom 300 is experiencing a surge in popularity. The mid-size jet may be smaller than the Citation Excel—it only has room for nine passengers instead of 10—but it burns less fuel, has better speed and range and, perhaps most importantly of all, costs one-third less.
