Aircraft
Embraer Legacy Midsize Jet Assembly To Start in U.S. in June
Midsize jet production will start out slowly in Florida, with just six Legacy 450/500s coming off the Melbourne line in 2017.
To make room for Legacy 450/500 assembly at its executive jet production facility in Melbourne, Fla., Embraer is removing an outside wall, shown here to the left of the current Phenom 100/300 production line, to expand outward while still permitting aircraft to be built during construction. When AIN visited in mid-October, the outside wall was being prepared for removal. (Photo: Chad Trautvetter/AIN)
To make room for Legacy 450/500 assembly at its executive jet production facility in Melbourne, Fla., Embraer is removing an outside wall, shown here to the left of the current Phenom 100/300 production line, to expand outward while still permitting aircraft to be built during construction. When AIN visited in mid-October, the outside wall was being prepared for removal. (Photo: Chad Trautvetter/AIN)

Expansion of Embraer Executive Jets' assembly facility in Melbourne, Fla., to accommodate Legacy 450 and 500 production, in addition to the existing Phenom 100 and 300 lines, is well under way and on pace to be completed in the spring, according to facility managing director Phil Krull. The first U.S.-assembled Legacy 450 is expected to enter the initial build station in June, he noted.