Embraer Phenom 300: specifications, range, cabin, variants

The Phenom 300 is the best-selling light business jet in the world. Eleven years running at the top of its class by deliveries, more than half the light jet market since 2012, and the most flown private aircraft in North America: 91 900 segments in a part year, up 16.2%.

Below is what the aircraft is technically, and why a light jet search has to start with it even when you would rather be looking at something else.

Phenom 300E specifications

Full data and photos are on the model page.

What sits behind those numbers

A 45 000 ft ceiling works for the schedule. A light jet that climbs to the flight levels of the heavy machines flies above the main traffic and above most of the weather. In practice that means fewer deviations around storm fronts, less turbulence and a more predictable time en route.

M 0.80 is the top of the scale for the light class. The 2020 enhanced version raised it from M 0.78, and it did so through uprated engines. The difference looks small, but on a three-hour leg it turns into minutes you can feel — and, more to the point, it lets the aircraft keep pace with heavier types when flights are planned together.

The 2 010 nautical mile range comes with a caveat. That is with five passengers. Load eight people with baggage and the figure comes down. The rule for any light jet is simple: if a route uses more than 85% of book range, plan a technical stop and price it in advance.

A cabin height of 1.50 m means you cannot stand up straight. For the light class that is normal, and on flights of up to three hours it is not an issue. On longer legs it is, and that is the main argument for moving up to midsize.

Three generations: what you are buying

The differences between the variants run deeper than the names suggest.

Phenom 300 (2009–2017). PW535E engines rated at 3 360 lb of thrust, Prodigy avionics based on the Garmin G1000, the original cabin. The most affordable aircraft on the market — and the most numerous.

Phenom 300E (2018). A completely reworked cabin and Prodigy Touch avionics based on the Garmin G3000 — touchscreen control instead of buttons. A ground power mode was added.

Phenom 300E enhanced (2020+). PW535E1 engines, maximum speed raised to M 0.80, range taken to 2 010 nautical miles, new cabin options.

Separately there is the Phenom 300MED, a factory medevac configuration available both on new aircraft and as a conversion.

On the pre-owned market the gap between "300" and "300E" is different avionics and a different cabin. Look at the designation in the documents: the word Phenom in a listing tells you nothing about the variant.

My own Embraer deals were on the Legacy. Finding and closing on an aircraft already flying on the pre-owned market takes around two months, a new one is a wait of about a year and a half. That is enough time to pull the documents and confirm that the word Phenom covers the variant you are paying for. When the job is covered by something simpler, or by no purchase at all, I say so — I talk clients out of purchases that are not justified.

What to check on a particular aircraft

Airframe life is 28 000 cycles. On a machine that has flown around 4 700 hours the wear is minimal — aircraft like that go through the market as low-time. Count cycles alongside hours: an aircraft flown on short legs accumulates far more cycles for the same time in the air.

Early aircraft have no Wi-Fi. A Gogo Avance retrofit runs to roughly $200–350 thousand. If connectivity in flight is a must for you, count that sum as part of the price of the aircraft.

Cabin configuration. Check what is fitted in the aft section: a belted lavatory seat or a proper compartment. On paper both count as a seat.

Avionics. The move from Prodigy to Prodigy Touch was a factory decision. If you want the touchscreen flight deck, buy a 300E — an early machine cannot be brought up to it.

Who it suits

The Phenom 300 covers a standard task: 4–7 people, legs of up to three and a half hours, the need to get into airfields of medium length. Domestic routes, regional production sites, trips where scheduled service is inconvenient or does not exist.

It does not suit cases where you need full standing height in the cabin, a proper bed or non-stop legs across a continent — that is a different class and different money.

What works in the model's favour beyond the specifications is the size of the fleet. Nearly a thousand aircraft in service means support that works, parts you can get and a predictable pre-owned market. For an owner that often matters more than another hundred kilometres of range.

Alexander Filimonov — business aviation: sourcing, purchase and entry into service of aircraft.