Embraer Legacy 600/650

From the front it looks like a regional jet; on the apron it stands among Gulfstreams and Falcons: the Embraer Legacy 600 and its further development, the Legacy 650, are business jets with airline genes. Embraer took the ERJ 135, gave it winglets and extra tanks and rebuilt the cabin for business travelers. For you as a spotter the Legacy is therefore an exciting type – easy to photograph, but with a risk of mix-ups. Here you learn how the Legacy came about, how to recognize it and where you are most likely to catch it.

What is the Embraer Legacy 600?

The Legacy 600 is a twinjet business jet from Embraer. Its official type designation is EMB-135BJ – the “BJ” stands for business jet, and the number reveals the origin: the basis is the ERJ 135 regional jet, the shortest version of the ERJ family.

Embraer presented the project in 2000 at the Farnborough Airshow, then still under the name Legacy 2000. The idea was as simple as it was inexpensive: instead of developing an entirely new business travel jet, the manufacturer used a proven airframe with an existing cockpit, engines and certification basis. A converted ERJ 135 served as the first prototype, which took off in June 2000; the second prototype followed on March 31, 2001. Customer service began in February 2002. The jet has carried the name Legacy 600 since the mid-2000s, and it stayed in the program for almost two decades.

Compared with the airliner version, the Legacy received several decisive changes:

• Additional tanks, which raise the range considerably
• Winglets on the wingtips and measures to reduce drag
• a higher service ceiling of 41,000 instead of 37,000 ft
• a business cabin with several zones for usually 13 to 14 guests instead of up to 37 seats
• a Honeywell (Primus) glass cockpit based on the reworked cockpit of the ERJ family

Thanks to its regional jet origins, the Legacy is unusually long for a business jet in its class and has a spacious cabin with a large baggage compartment. Embraer thus positioned it against types like the Bombardier Challenger 604/605 and the Dassault Falcon 2000.

The versions at a glance

Over the years Embraer developed the Legacy several times. From the outside the differences remain small, but technically they are considerable for operators.

Legacy 600

The first production version with two Rolls-Royce AE 3007A1E engines of about 35 kN thrust each. The maximum takeoff weight is 22,500 kilograms and the range about 3,400 nautical miles (roughly 6,300 kilometers). That easily covers routes within Europe and to the Middle East, for example. Most deliveries fell in the boom years of business aviation: according to industry data, 2007 and 2008 were the strongest years with 36 aircraft each.

Legacy 650

At the NBAA trade show in 2009 Embraer presented the Legacy 650 as a long-range derivative. It got the more powerful AE 3007A2 engines with about 40 kN thrust, a takeoff weight increased to 24,300 kilograms and more fuel. The range thus rises to about 3,900 nautical miles (roughly 7,200 kilometers). In the cockpit works Honeywell’s Primus Elite avionics. Brazilian and European certification followed in October 2010, certification by the US aviation authority FAA in early 2011. The first Legacy 650 went to its customer as early as November 2010.

Legacy 650E

In 2016 Embraer announced the Legacy 650E for the following year. It came as standard with a synthetic vision system and an autothrottle, plus a long manufacturer warranty of ten years or 10,000 flight hours. Externally you can see no difference from the 650.

Legacy Shuttle and special versions

The Legacy Shuttle is a bit of an outlier: it uses the Legacy airframe but without extra tanks and with airliner seating for 19 to 37 passengers – intended for companies that shuttle employees between locations. In Brazil the air force flies the Legacy as the VC-99B as a government aircraft. In addition, the Chinese joint venture Harbin Embraer assembled Legacy 650s for a time for the Asian market; these aircraft are also listed under E35L in the ICAO list.

Version	Engines	Max. takeoff weight	Range
Legacy 600	AE 3007A1E, approx. 35 kN	22,500 kg	approx. 3,400 NM
Legacy 650 / 650E	AE 3007A2, approx. 40 kN	24,300 kg	approx. 3,900 NM
Legacy Shuttle	like Legacy 600	–	clearly lower without extra tanks

How to recognize the Legacy

If you know the ERJ family, you are halfway there. The Legacy adopts the basic layout almost one to one: two rear-mounted engines, a T-tail, low-set wings and a strikingly long, pointed nose. At 26.33 meters the fuselage is exactly as long as on the ERJ 135 and very slim and stretched for a business jet.

The most important identifying feature is the winglets: they bend clearly upward at the wingtips and increase the wingspan to about 21.2 meters. The ERJ 135 and most ERJ 145s in airline service, by contrast, have straight wing ends – the exception is the ERJ 145XR, which also carries winglets but is about 3.5 meters longer. Then there is the context: private or charter registrations, often plain white business jet liveries with decorative stripes and a parking spot at the general aviation terminal.

The cabin windows are small and round and sit close together – a legacy of the regional jet. Gulfstream jets, on the other hand, have large oval windows that you recognize immediately even at a distance.

Common mix-ups

In the business jet segment there are many types with rear engines. The Legacy stands out through its length and pointed nose, but a second look is still worthwhile.

Mix-up	How to tell them apart
Embraer ERJ 135	same fuselage, but straight wingtips without winglets and airline livery
Embraer ERJ 145	fuselage about 3.5 m longer, winglets only on the 145XR version
Bombardier Challenger 650	wider, shorter fuselage with a blunter nose
Dassault Falcon 2000	horizontal stabilizer not at the very top of the vertical stabilizer, no T-tail
Gulfstream G450	large oval windows, bulkier fuselage
Embraer Praetor 600	independent, clearly shorter design with a more compact nose

Particularly tricky is the distinction from the Embraer Lineage 1000 – but only on paper: both are business jets made from Embraer airliners, but the Lineage is based on the E190 and has its engines under the wings. If you want to reliably tell business jets apart in general, the article Telling business jet types apart offers a good overview.

Operators and use

The Legacy flies mainly for private owners, companies and charter firms. Its strengths – a large cabin, plenty of baggage space, solid range and proven technology from the airline world – made it especially popular with charter companies. The aircraft are registered worldwide. In Europe you meet it under very different registrations, often from smaller registers. Why business jets so often sit in small registers is explained in the article on offshore registrations.

Governments also use the type: the Brazilian Air Force flies it as the VC-99B for government flights. Since the number of aircraft remains manageable at 289 and the aircraft often change owners, you should always check operator details against the specific registration.

Spotting tips for the Legacy 600/650

Business jets fly on demand rather than on a schedule. For the Legacy that means: patience, good timing and the right airport.

• Choose business aviation hubs. You have good chances at airports with lots of business travel traffic such as Geneva Airport, Zurich Airport, Nice, Paris-Le Bourget or London Luton. In Geneva the observation deck is a good starting point, and tips on the city are provided by the Geneva spotting guide.
• Keep an eye on events. Trade shows, summits and major sporting events bring many business jets at once. In winter, airports near the ski resorts are worthwhile, such as Salzburg.
• Use tracking. With the filter E35L you see whether a Legacy is on the move. How to follow a specific registration is explained in the article Tracking an aircraft by registration.
• Aim for the side view. For a reliable ID you need the winglets in the picture. Shots on approach from an angle to the side, or while taxiing, show them best.
• Plan for focal length. At a good 26 meters the Legacy is larger than many business jets, but still small compared with airliners. A telephoto zoom up to 400 mm is often worth its weight in gold on the GA apron.

If you are generally interested in business aircraft, the guide Spotting business jets has more tips, and the article Spotting general aviation is about the smaller types on the GA apron.

Two events that made the Legacy known

The Legacy 600 made world news twice. On September 29, 2006, a brand-new Legacy on its delivery flight collided over the Amazon region with a Boeing 737-800 of Brazil’s GOL. The Boeing crashed, and all 154 people on board were killed. The Legacy was damaged but landed safely at an air force base. Among the causes cited by the investigations were an incorrect flight altitude and an inactive transponder on the Legacy.

On August 23, 2023, a Legacy 600 crashed in Russia in the Tver region. According to Russian authorities, the head of the Wagner Group was among the ten dead. Embraer stated at the time that it had not serviced the aircraft since 2019 because of sanctions.

Why Embraer ended the Legacy 650

In August 2020 Embraer announced it would no longer sell the Legacy 650. By the end of 2020 a total of 289 Legacy 600s and 650s had been built. By then the manufacturer’s business jet program had long since been reorganized: with the Phenom 300 and the Praetor 600, Embraer relied on independent designs that no longer descend from a regional jet. The Legacy 600/650 thus remains the chapter in which Embraer entered the market for large business jets with a converted airliner – successful enough to still be seen at many airports today.

Conclusion

The Embraer Legacy 600/650 is a business jet with an airline past: the fuselage of the ERJ 135, supplemented by winglets, extra tanks and a cabin for about 13 to 14 guests. With 289 built it is no mass product, but it is a regular guest at business aviation airports. For spotters it is a nice exercise in looking closely – and a type that deserves its own line in the hangar next to the ERJ 135.