Aircraft Overview: Embraer Legacy 450
The Legacy 450 is a super-midsize category business jet produced by Brazilian manufacturer Embraer that are based on the company’s EMB-545 type. First flight of the Legacy 450 took place on Dec. 28, 2013, with certification by the Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency [Agencia Nacional de Aviacao Civil (ANAC)] subsequently occurring on Aug. 11, 2015. Embraer announced on Dec. 22, 2015, that deliveries of the Legacy 450 had begun, with the first airplane delivered to a U.S.-based customer on Dec. 21, 2015. An updated version of the EMB-545—which increases the airframe’s fuel capacity, maximum weights and range—is marketed as the Praetor 500.
According to the ANAC type certificate data sheet (TCDS) for the type, the maximum passenger capacity of the EMB-545 is 10, with both Legacy 450 and Praetor 500 passengers accommodated in a flat-floor cabin that has a length of 24 ft. and height of 6 ft. The space in the cabin supplemented by a baggage volume of 150 ft.3, while the two required pilots operate the airframe using Collins Aerospace’s Pro Line Fusion integrated avionics system—which features four 15.1-in. liquid crystal displays—and side-stick controls.
Operating limitations of the EMB-545 type include a maximum operating altitude of 45,000 ft. and a maximum operating speed (MMO) of 0.83 Mach, the latter of which is possible from 30,000 ft. to the maximum operating altitude. In addition to that certified speed limitation, Embraer also markets the Legacy 450 as having a high-speed cruise speed of 462 kt. true airspeed (KTAS) based on a baseline airplane operated at the maximum cruise speed at flight level (FL) 430, in standard conditions, with four 200-lb. passengers and a “half fuel tank.”
Although the conditions under which it is able to be achieved are not specified, the Praetor 500 has a slightly higher high-speed cruise speed of 466 KTAS. Similarly, when carrying National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) instrument flight rules (IFR) reserves and assuming a 200-nm alternate, operating at the long-range cruise speed, and carrying four passengers and two pilots, a baseline Legacy 450 is able to operate to a range of 2,904 nm, a figure that the Praetor 500 increases to 3,340 nm.
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Assuming the airframe’s maximum takeoff weight (MTOW), sea-level altitude and standard conditions, the respective takeoff distances of the Legacy 450 and Praetor 500 are 3,907 ft. and 4,222 ft. An unfactored landing distance of 2,090 ft. is possible in a Legacy 450 carrying NBAA IFR reserves, four 200-lb. passengers, and at sea-level altitude and in standard conditions, with the Praetor 500 capable of a comparable distance of 2,086 ft.
Described in the European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) TCDS as being “a derivative model of the EMB-550 aircraft family type,” EASA also notes that the EMB-545 is a shortened variant of the baseline EMB-550, with that latter type using the Legacy 500 and Praetor 600 commercial designations. Although both the EMB-545 and EMB-550 are powered by the same engines—a pair of Honeywell AS907-3-1E (HTF7500E)—the Legacy 450 and Praetor 500’s engines have a lower thrust rating (6,540 lbf.) than those which are found on the larger Legacy 500 and Praetor 600 (7,036 lbf. and 7,528 lbf., respectively). The Legacy 450’s maximum weights differ depending upon whether a service bulletin (SB 550-42-004) or an “equivalent factory-incorporated modification” are integrated into a given airplane.
On Air Charter Guide, March 2021, there are four Legacy 450 for charter through four different charter operators including a 8-seater from Global Jet Concept SA.
See the up-to-date list of aircraft and base locations on Air Charter Guide.
On airframes that do not incorporate that service bulletin or modification, the MTOW is 35,274 lb., a limitation that is increased to 35,758 lb. on Legacy 450 airframes that do feature that service bulletin or factory modification. The same distinctions also impact the fuel capacity—which is carried in a pair of wing tanks—with Legacy 450 airframes that do not incorporate SB 550-28-002 or a factory modification having a total fuel capacity of 10,846 lb., and those that do increase that capacity to 12,126 lb. Comparatively, the MTOW and total fuel capacity of the Praetor 500 are increased to 37,567 lb. and 13,050 lb., respectively.
Take a look at the full AWIN Program Profile of the Legacy 450/ 500 and Praetor 500/600