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-new Melbourne, Florida assembly facility made its first flight December 9, 2011 at Melbourne International Airport. The aircraft flew to an altitude of 41,000 and to speeds up to its MMO (Maximum Operating Mach number) with zero anomalies.According to production test pilot Joao Rafael Silva, the two and a half hour Post-production evaluation flight went exactly as planned. The aircraft successfully flew designated items from the standard test card used to evaluate systems and performance of each Phenom 100 aircraft prior to delivery.“We are very proud of the production flight test results,” said Phil Krull, Managing Director, Embraer Executive Aircraft, Inc. “This flight clearly shows that our Melbourne team is ready to carry on seamless production of the Embraer Phenom 100 with the same level of excellence as our colleagues in Brazil.”Sales for North America, Embraer Executive Jets. “To have one of our most successful aircraft built in Melbourne and flying across American skies embodies Embraer’s determination to build a strong footprint in the US.”Embraer opened the Melbourne production facility in February 2011 and on December 5th inaugurated its 58,000 square foot, state-of-the- art Global Customer Center.“This is a historic week for the Company,” said Ernest Edwards, President, Embraer Executive Jets, “The opening of Embraer’s global Customer Center, followed by today’s flight of the first Phenom 100 built in the US, gives our customers, suppliers and friends a sense of our commitment to our promises and feelings of immense pride to all our employees.”This first US-made Phenom 100, built for Kansas City-based Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 fractional provider•Executive AirShare, was slated to be delivered before the end of2011. T&TEN ROUTETFirst US Assembled Embraer Phenom 100 Makes Maiden Flighthe first Embraer Phenom “This is an extraordinary 100 entry-level business milestone for our Company” said jet built at the Company’s Robert Knebel, Vice President,Correction note:In the December T&T, Kevin Dingman’s From The Flight Deck column, “’Twas The Night Before...” carried a reference to Santa’s SAE as “Sleigh Avionics ELT”. It should have read “Sleigh Avionics Elf”, as Kevin wrote it. We apologize for the confusion.28 • TWIN & TURBINEJANUARY 2012