Embraer Legacy 500 makes maiden flight

It flew for an hour and 45 minutes making it the first jet in its class to use a fly-by-wire control system. The midsize – a competitor to the Hawker 850/900 and the Learjet 85, features a large cabin for up to 12 passengers with six feet of headroom.

Two Honeywell HTF 7500E engines power the aircraft at up to Mach .82 with a 3,000 nautical mile range..

The cockpit features sidestick controllers and is fitted with Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics with synthetic vision.

Embraer has positioned the jet to fill the niche between the light Phenom models and the larger cabin Legacy 600 and 650.

According to an Embraer spokesman, the flight was "flawless.”

First deliveries are expected in 2014