(Photo: REUTERS / Paulo Whitaker)
Embraer said it delivered the first conversion of a Legacy 450 to a Praetor 500 jet to AirSprint Private Aviation. The Canadian joint venture plans a second conversion of the Legacy 450 to the Praetor 500 later this year, in addition to the delivery of a new Praetor 500, also in 2021. With these additions, Airsprint will have three Praetor 500s in its fleet and a total nine Embraer aircraft.
According to the Brazilian manufacturer, in total, it has already converted 16 Legacy 450 jets to Praetor 500 jets in Europe and North America. The entire conversion process is carried out at Embraer’s own service centers.
According to the company, the Praetor 500 has the best range in its class, capable of performing non-stop flights of 3,340 nautical miles at long-distance cruising speed. The aircraft is capable of flying from Montreal to London or from Vancouver to Miami with a single stopover.
“To allow the Legacy 450 to increase its range from 2,904 nautical miles to the 3,340 nautical miles of the Praetor 500, several important modifications were made. The wing was repositioned, the fuel metering system was relocated and the wing ribs were reinforced to support the extra weight. These adjustments also included updates to the flight control systems and new avionics software for the popular Collins Aerospace Pro Line Fusion, among other changes, ”says Embraer .
The Praetor 500 and Praetor 600 were approved by Anac, Easa and the FAA less than a year after being announced at NBAA-BACE 2018. The Praetor 600 is the longest-range super-medium jet in the world, capable of making non-stop flights between Paris and New York or from São Paulo to Miami. With four passengers on board and IFR NBAA reserves, the Praetor 600 has an intercontinental range of 4,018 nautical miles (7,441 km).
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