On Dec 15, 2009, The Embraer Phenom 300 achieved FAA Certification. It looks like Embraer took every specification number of the Cessna Citation CJ3 and CJ4 and tried to be a little better in every category.

Cessna originally created the Mustang as an "entry level jet" (not VLJ) so piston pilots could start with a small manageable jet before upgrading to the rest of the Citation line. By and large, they accomplished that - the Mustang is easy and forgiveable to fly. It uses the Garmin G1000 which is familiar to 172, 182, Corvalis and new Cirrus pilots. However, they did not count on Embraer entering the light jet market so aggressively with the Phenom 100, and now the 300.

Looking at the final certification numbers below, the Phenom 300 is an interesting competitor to the new CJ4 from Cessna. For a current Mustang / G1000 pilot, the transition to the Phenom might be easier than the CJ4 which uses Collins Avionics. Ironic!

Note that the CJ4 is not yet certified, so these are not the final numbers. I'm sure Cessna will do their utmost to look better on paper over the months until final type certification.

All information below comes from the respective manufacturer.

Embraer propoganda brochure can be found here. The most interesting thing to note is the footnotes about some of the above values. If anyone has the real AFM, it would be helpful for accuracy.