SÃO JOSÉ DOS CAMPOS, Brazil, 7 July 2011. Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer SA in São José dos Campos, Brazil, took the next step towards building business jets in the United States this month when the company took delivery of the fuselage and wing parts of the first Phenom 100 six-passenger business jet at the Embraer Executive Jets facility in Melbourne, Fla. Embraer officials say they expect to deliver the first airplane made at the Florida facility to be delivered before then end of this year.The Phenom 100 was the most delivered business jet in the world in 2010, Embraer officials say. The Embraer Executive Jets facility is 80,000 square feet, and has the potential to strengthen the aerospace industry on the Space Coast of Florida as NASA is winding down the U.S. Space Shuttle program, Embraer officials say.Embraer's announcement comes on the heels of a press conference in Washington last week in which President Barack Obama singled out corporate jet owners for criticism related to budget negotiations with Congress. Obama's comments reportedly infuriated the U.S. aerospace industry, whose officials say the president's criticism of U.S. general aviation could hurt job growth in the aerospace sector, and hurt the general aviation industry, which has suffered setbacks from the economic recession.
Embraer employs 69 engineers at the Executive Jets facility, some of whom are former NASA employees. The company expects to hire 200 employees by the end of 2012, says Phil Krull, managing director of Embraer Executive Jets. The company built the Florida business jet facility to get closer to U.S. customers, officials say.
The Embraer Phenom 100 business jet is 42 feet long, 14.4 feet high, has a 40.5-foot wing span, seats pilot, co-pilot, and as many as six passengers, and cruises at 380 knots.
Embraer first announced plans to locate the facility in Melbourne, Fla., in May 2008, and broke ground on the jet factory seven months later. The $50 million facility will total 150,000 square feet, with hangar and administrative building. The facility also will have a show room to help customers design their aircraft interiors.
For more information contact Embraer online at www.embraer.com.
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