LEGACY 450 AND LEGACY 500 WIN FLIGHTGLOBAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Their fly-by-wire system is considered the innovation of the year
São José dos Campos, July 20, 2010 – Embraer received the prestigious Flightglobal
Achievement Award, today, in a ceremony held during the 47th Farnborough International
Airshow, in England. The award was granted in the Innovator of the Year category for the
development of the fly-by-wire system that will equip the new midlight Legacy 450 and
midsize Legacy 500 executive jets.
“It is a great honor for Embraer to receive this prestigious award, and I would like to thank
Flight International magazine readers for choosing the Legacy 450 and Legacy 500 fly-bywire
system as the innovation of the year,” said Luís Carlos Affonso, Embraer Executive Vice
President, Executive Jets. “These jets will be the first in their categories to feature full fly-bywire systems, delivering valuable advantages to our customers. I congratulate our team for this outstanding job and for helping us fulfill the promise of developing distinctive and
innovative airplanes for the business aviation market.”
The Flightglobal Achievement Awards are organized, annually, by Flight International
magazine. The prize recognizes individuals, teams and innovations in the aviation and
aerospace industries. Ciro Tokasiki, Embraer Product Development Manager for the
Legacy 450 and Legacy 500 Program, received the award on behalf of the engineers and
pilots of the Embraer fly-by-wire development team.
“This recognition is the result of excellent teamwork by the group of Embraer engineers and
pilots, who I’m very proud to represent, today,” said Ciro Tokasiki. “The full fly-by-wire
system with side-stick controls will enable a smoother and safer flight and offer passengers and
pilots the advantage of optimized performance, increased comfort, greater control, reduced
workload, and flight envelope protection.”
Embraer’s experience with fly-by-wire systems goes back to the 1980s, with the development
of the AMX subsonic fighter, which had rudder and spoilers controlled by this system. In the
late 1990s, the EMBRAER 170/190 family of E-Jets went a step further, with elevators,
rudder and roll spoilers digitally controlled, and featuring advanced functions, such as
embedded step approach and stall protection system via the angle of attack limiter.
The Legacy 450 and the Legacy 500 are the first full fly-by-wire Embraer jets, with all
flight control surfaces digitally controlled by closed-loop architecture. Taking advantage of
the Company’s previous developments, these airplanes are now taken to the next level in
terms of ease of operation, functionalities and protection. Embraer is responsible for the
development of the system’s innovative control laws, which are currently being tested in
engineering simulators, and will soon be implemented in the Legacy 500 “Iron Bird” rig.
The first flight of the Legacy 500 executive jet is planned for the second half of 2011.
Source: EMBRAER
