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Pros & Cons of Flying the Phenom 300

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johnsonrod

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 25, 2006
Posts
4,218
I know there are plenty of Phenom 300 pilots from FLOPS, Netjets and Executive Airshares on this board. Former coworker of mine has an upcoming interview with Netjets and it sounds like they are funneling newhires into the 300 these days as that fleet is growing. I saw a similar thread on APC but thought it would be interesting to hear from pilots on this board.

So, if you have flown or currently fly the Phenom 300 for FLOPS, Netjets or EAS, what are the pros and cons of the aircraft from your perspective?

PLEASE, no anti-fractional or 121 vs. fractional pay comments... We all agree fractional pilots deserve a lot more pay for what they do. My friend is coming from the 135 world so he is familiar with the lifestyle, etc.
 
Pros:

Good climb performance
Garmin Safe taxi
Sirius XM satellite radar
Can be fun to fly
Preset fuel panel for the fueler

Cons:
Some of the plastic pieces feel cheap
Small inside-cabin and cockpit
FMS/jeppview/safetaxi MEL'd frequently
Four hour range
Sluggish in the 20's
 
Last edited:
Pros:
What JetProp said
External lav
Easy to land
Great brakes
It's not a Beechjet

Cons:
What JetProp said
Slow climb & descent speeds
Crew seats, esp. the T-Rex-arms armrests
 
Flies nice, a couple gotchas and Garmin quirks, wish it was a little bigger. Overall a good light jet.
 
What the other guys said about a small cockpit cannot be over emphasized. I'm not sure how small a cockpit can be, but NetJets set the standard for tiny cockpit.
How big/tall is your friend?
If he had a previous job driving the clown car, he'll be alright.

Watch out for the pitot tube when installing the nose wheel steering pin. It's been known to gash a few heads. Don't worry though, chicks dig scars.

If he's never had a back problem, he soon will.

Hunching over to do every damn thing from stocking, vacuuming, closing the door, making coffee to getting in the seat will soon lead to a condition known as "The Embraer Back Ache". We still have great health benefits though. Line up the best chiropractor or physical therapist now.

The upside? There are a lot of great pilots in the left seat waiting to buy you an adult beverage and dinner. :)
 
What the other guys said about a small cockpit cannot be over emphasized. I'm not sure how small a cockpit can be, but NetJets set the standard for tiny cockpit.
How big/tall is your friend?
If he had a previous job driving the clown car, he'll be alright.

Watch out for the pitot tube when installing the nose wheel steering pin. It's been known to gash a few heads. Don't worry though, chicks dig scars.

If he's never had a back problem, he soon will.

Hunching over to do every damn thing from stocking, vacuuming, closing the door, making coffee to getting in the seat will soon lead to a condition known as "The Embraer Back Ache". We still have great health benefits though. Line up the best chiropractor or physical therapist now.

The upside? There are a lot of great pilots in the left seat waiting to buy you an adult beverage and dinner. :)

All of the above was perfected decades ago by Learjet. At least in the Phenom you don't have a permanent head-tilt from avoiding the windshield all the time.
 
What the other guys said about a small cockpit cannot be over emphasized. I'm not sure how small a cockpit can be, but NetJets set the standard for tiny cockpit.
How big/tall is your friend?
If he had a previous job driving the clown car, he'll be alright.

Watch out for the pitot tube when installing the nose wheel steering pin. It's been known to gash a few heads. Don't worry though, chicks dig scars.

If he's never had a back problem, he soon will.

Hunching over to do every damn thing from stocking, vacuuming, closing the door, making coffee to getting in the seat will soon lead to a condition known as "The Embraer Back Ache". We still have great health benefits though. Line up the best chiropractor or physical therapist now.

The upside? There are a lot of great pilots in the left seat waiting to buy you an adult beverage and dinner. :)

Very good feedback. Yeah, like the Beechjet or Lear 40/45, it looks tight.

What is the ideal height/weight combo beyond which it would be uncomfortable (e.g., 5 ft 10 in and 175 lbs) for more than an hour or two? At what height are you "reasonably" comfortable?

On the plus side, it looks like a good performer. Is it fun to fly when you are not cramping up?
 

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