An original 2009 Phenom 100 on the runway at Las Vegas in April 2012. · Photo: Tomás Del Coro, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Embraer · Very Light Jet
Phenom 100 (original)
The first of four Phenom 100 versions, built 2008–2013 before Embraer added spoilers.
The original Phenom 100 gives you a genuine jet cabin, an aft lavatory and 390-knot speed for $2–3.5 million. The trade-offs are limited payload with full fuel, brakes-only stopping and a costly 10-year inspection you must budget for.
Buy it if
You fly two to four people on trips under about 900 nm, want a single-pilot jet with a proper cabin and Embraer support, and can find one with its 10-year inspection and engine work already done.
Skip it if
You regularly fill every seat, need nonstop coast-to-coast or summer Aspen performance, fly from short wet runways, or want a touchscreen cockpit without paying for upgrades. The later 100E and 100EV fix some of this.
Biggest compromise
Stopping power. The original Phenom 100 has no spoilers and no thrust reversers, so every landing relies on its wheel brakes, and early jets had brake-by-wire faults that Embraer fixed with a series of free upgrades.
The numbers that matter
Purchase price
$2.35M
typical asking · $1.95M–$3.5M
What it costs per year
$871K
at 300 hrs · one professional pilot
How far it flies
1,178 nm
915–1,044 nm with passengers
How fast
390 kt
high-speed cruise
Seats
4
4 typical, up to 6 by interior
Pilots needed
1
Certified for one pilot; insurers often require mentor flying before solo operation.
Price
What one costs to buy
Typical asking price
$2,347,500
Where asking prices sit
Low
$1.95M
Typical
$2.35M
High
$3.5M
Most asking prices fall inside this band.
Other sites
Priced vs call
with a price / call for price
Eight of 24 advertised jets show prices: high-time 2009–2010 jets ask about $2 million, low-time 2012–2013 jets up to $3.5 million.
Price vs its family and alternatives
Scroll to explore · select a jet for details
Phenom 100 (original) · This aircraft
$2.35M
Sits between the Citation Mustang (510) and the Phenom 100E.
For sale now
None listed right now
Cost to own
What it costs per year to run
300hours / year
Per year
Per flight hour
Estimate — your operator will quote actual numbers.
Fuel, airframe maintenance, engine program and trip costs rise as you fly more. One professional pilot, recurrent training, hangar, insurance, management and subscriptions, databases and office stay the same however much you fly.
Where the money goes
- One professional pilot$181,68321%
- Recurrent training$19,0002%
- Hangar$28,4703%
- Insurance$20,9572%
- Management$33,0004%
- Subscriptions, databases and office$27,5003%
- Fuel$243,58828%
- Airframe maintenance$148,80017%
- Engine program$127,05015%
- Trip costs$41,2505%
Fuel is the biggest single cost at 28% of the total.
The JetGrade
72 out of 100 — Slightly above its class
Peer group: Cessna Citation Mustang (510), Honda HondaJet (HA-420), Cessna Citation M2 (525), Eclipse 500 (EA500)
Seven categories at a glance
- - - 70 = typical— This aircraft
Strongest on cabin & passenger comfort, weakest on airport access.
Grades are editorial opinions about the model, not any specific aircraft. Sponsors and affiliates have no input. Reviewed 2026-10-14.
Where it flies
Sample trips and reach
Typical trips on a map
Nonstop
Depends on weight or weather
Fuel stop likely
3 of 6 sample trips are comfortable nonstops.
Sample flight times
- 1.0 hr
Carlsbad → Las Vegas
205 nm
- 2.1 hr
Carlsbad → Aspen
625 nm · Mountain airport; depends on weight and weather
- 2.5 hr
Santa Ana → San José del Cabo
765 nm
- 2.9 hr
Teterboro → West Palm Beach
900 nm · Near the limit with four aboard and headwinds
- 3.9 hr
Dallas → Teterboro
1,190 nm · One stop with four passengers; tailwinds may help
- 6.5 hr
Carlsbad → Teterboro
2,100 nm · Two stops with four passengers in still air
Lineage
What came before and after
2008–2013
Embraer Phenom 100
Original version: Garmin G1000 Prodigy cockpit, no spoilers, 1,695 lbf engines.
Size and cabin
How big it is, inside and out
Outside
Silhouette · scaled to length
Length
Wingspan
Height
Inside the cabin
Cabin length
Width
Height
Compare
How it stacks up
This aircraft
Phenom 100 (original)
- JetGrade
- 72
- Price
- $2.35M
- Cost per year
- $871K
- Range
- 1,178 nm
- Speed
- 390 kt
- Seats
- 4
- Cabin length
- 11′ 0″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 2008–2013
After →
- JetGrade
- 71
- Price
- $2.95M–$3.35M guide
- Cost per year
- $866K
- Range
- 1,178 nm
- Speed
- 390 kt
- Seats
- 4
- Cabin length
- 11′ 0″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 2014–2017
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 72
- Price
- $2.1M
- Cost per year
- $850K
- Range
- 1,150 nm
- Speed
- 340 kt
- Seats
- 4
- Cabin length
- 9′ 9″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 2006–2017
Alternative
Honda Aircraft HondaJet HA-420
- JetGrade
- Not yet graded
- Range
- 1,223 nm
- Speed
- 422 kt
- Seats
- 4
- Years built
- 2015–2018
- Cessna Citation Mustang (510) instead: Cessna's entry-level jet for a similar mission and budget; compare cabin size, speed and Cessna's service network.
- Embraer Phenom 100E instead: The same jet from 2014 with factory spoilers; 2022 sales averaged about $3.1 million against $2.49 million for the original.
- Honda HondaJet (HA-420) instead: A newer very light jet design with an aft lavatory; compare purchase price, speed and service coverage.
Gold marks the best figure in each row.
Owning one
What to know before you buy
Engines & inspections
2 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PW617F-E · 1,695 lbf each
No APUEngine hours until overhaul
- Annual and hourly inspection · 800 hr
- Engine hot section inspection · 1,750 hr
- Engine overhaul · 3,500 hr
- 60-month inspection every 60 months
- 10-year inspection with gear every 120 months
- Landing gear overhaul every 120 months
- Engine low-use inspection every 144 months
Most jets for sale are on ESP or JSSI hourly plans; without one, a hot-section inspection cost about $115,000 per engine in 2017.
Known issues
Ten-year inspection cost
The 10-year inspection with landing gear overhaul was estimated at $200,000–250,000 in 2020, plus findings.
Icing technique is critical
A 2014 crash followed an icing approach with de-ice off; an ice detector retrofit and winter training help.
Early brake-by-wire faults
2010-era jets had brake failures and tire blowouts; Embraer issued a series of free brake control upgrades.
Pre-buy checklist
0 of 10 checked
Embraer runs six factory-owned US service centers plus authorized shops and mobile repair trucks. Owners rate its reliability and warranty support highly, but its parts availability scored lowest among major jet makers in 2025.
Review
The full review
Strengths
- The cabin is 4 ft 11 in tall and 5 ft 1 in wide, roomy for a very light jet.
- A 390-knot top cruise and about 1,040 nm with four passengers cover most regional trips nonstop.
- Asking prices of $1.95–3.5 million, with 24 jets advertised in October 2026, give buyers real choice.
Limitations
- No spoilers or thrust reversers, so wheel brakes do all the stopping and wet runways need big margins.
- Full tanks leave only about 580 lb for passengers and bags, so four adults means less fuel.
- The 10-year inspection with landing gear overhaul was estimated at $200,000–250,000 in 2020, before findings.
The Phenom 100 was Embraer's entry into the very light jet class, certified in December 2008 and first delivered on Christmas Eve that year. About 300 of these original models were built through 2013, before Embraer added spoilers and renamed it the Phenom 100E. The 100EV followed with new engines and a touchscreen cockpit, and today's 100EX refreshed the cabin. Every version shares one type certificate, so pilot training, parts and service centers carry across the family.
Pilot's take
The Phenom 100 offers a roomy flight deck for its size, and a well-integrated Garmin cockpit with straightforward handling makes single-pilot work manageable. Two habits matter more here than in most jets. The first is the landing. With no spoilers or reversers, the airplane rewards the correct reference speed and immediate, steady braking from touchdown, especially on wet pavement. The second is ice. The wing and tail boots must be on whenever icing is possible, because that also switches the stall warning to its earlier icing setting. Respect those two rules and the airplane is honest, quick and easy to like.
Who this is for
Owner-pilots stepping up from a turboprop or twin, and small companies flying two to four people 300 to 900 nm, who want a real jet cabin for $2–3 million and will budget for a professional pilot or serious training.
Ask about this aircraft
Answers come only from our research file on the Phenom 100.
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