Phenom 300 vs Praetor 500: how the two fleets are really flown
On two of the four chapters' lead measures, the gap inside each fleet is bigger than the gap between the Phenom 300 and the Praetor 500. The clearest difference is short runways: the middle Phenom 300 at 2%, the middle Praetor 500 at 11%, with no overlap between their middle halves.
Embraer Phenom 300 fleet statistics →Embraer Praetor 500 fleet statistics →
Fatigue
On hours per landing, the types sit further apart than the middle half of either fleet spans: the middle Praetor 500 at 1.5 : 1, the middle Phenom 300 at 1.2 : 1.
What each landing and pressurization cycle costs the structure: landings per hour and short hops.
Hours per landing
Where the two fleets sitSide by side
Every active aircraft of each type in North America: 581 Phenom 300s and 124 Praetor 500s.| Measure | Phenom 300 median | Middle half | Praetor 500 median | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hours per landing Each aircraft’s average flight hours per landing | 1.2 : 1 | 1.2–1.5 : 1 | 1.5 : 1 | 1.4–1.6 : 1 |
| Short hops Share of legs under 300 nm | 45% | 36–49% | 37% | 33–41% |
| Leg length Median leg | 344 nm | 303–424 nm | 420 nm | 380–460 nm |
Corrosion
On salt air, the gap between the types is smaller than the spread inside either fleet: the middle Praetor 500 at 8%, the middle Phenom 300 at 5%.
What the air around the fleet does overnight: salt, damp and freeze–thaw.
Salt air
Where the two fleets sitSide by side
Aircraft we can place on enough nights at known fields: 448 Phenom 300s and 106 Praetor 500s.| Measure | Phenom 300 median | Middle half | Praetor 500 median | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salt air Nights within 2 km of the coast | 5% | 1–9% | 8% | 4–11% |
| Near the coast Nights within 10 km of the coast | 30% | 10–40% | 35% | 27–40% |
| Damp air Hours a day at 80% humidity or more, above freezing | 6.9 h | 5.9–7.8 h | 6.8 h | 6.2–7.6 h |
| Freeze–thaw Nights that froze and thawed within the day | 8% | 4–12% | 9% | 5–13% |
| Moisture in the air Average absolute humidity overnight | 10.0 g/m³ | 9.0–11.1 g/m³ | 9.6 g/m³ | 8.9–10.6 g/m³ |
Engines and brakes
On short runways, the fleets part: the middle Praetor 500 at 11%, the middle Phenom 300 at 2%, and their middle halves don't overlap.
What departures ask of engines, brakes and tires: heat and height, and runway length.
Short runways
Where the two fleets sitSide by side
Departures we could assess: 581 Phenom 300s and 124 Praetor 500s.| Measure | Phenom 300 median | Middle half | Praetor 500 median | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short runways Departures where the longest runway was under 1.25× the takeoff distance | 2% | 0–3% | 11% | 8–14% |
| Hot, high takeoffs Departures at 5,000 ft density altitude or more | 6% | 3–9% | 7% | 4–10% |
| Density altitude Typical density altitude at takeoff | 1,523 ft | 1,358–1,782 ft | 1,531 ft | 1,411–1,663 ft |
Utilization
On flights a month, the gap between the types is smaller than the spread inside either fleet: the middle Praetor 500 at 31, the middle Phenom 300 at 17.
How steadily each fleet is used: flights, flying days and estimated hours.
Flights a month
Where the two fleets sitSide by side
Every active Phenom 300 (581) and every active Praetor 500 (124). Each type uses the tracking rule its own fleet page uses.| Measure | Phenom 300 median | Middle half | Praetor 500 median | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flights a month In the months it flew | 17.1 | 5.2–37.3 | 30.9 | 9.1–35.6 |
| Days flown a month Days with at least one flight | 9.5 | 4.1–16.6 | 15.1 | 5.7–17.1 |
| Estimated hours a year From time in the air | ≈272 h | 96–550 h | ≈549 h | 154–644 h |
Choosing between a Phenom 300 and a Praetor 500?
Check both tails, not the types.
Enter the two tails on your shortlist. TailCheck grades each one on Fatigue, Corrosion, Engines and brakes, and Utilization against its own type, then puts them side by side.
Trip-length mix
45% of Phenom 300 legs and 38% of Praetor 500 legs were under 300 nm, a gap of 7 percentage points; 9% and 19% were over 900 nm.
| Leg length (nm) | Phenom 300 | Praetor 500 |
|---|---|---|
| <150 | 20% | 17% |
| 150–300 | 25% | 21% |
| 300–450 | 17% | 14% |
| 450–600 | 12% | 11% |
| 600–900 | 16% | 17% |
| 900–1,200 | 7% | 10% |
| 1,200–1,800 | 2% | 7% |
| 1,800+ | 0% | 2% |
Share of legs by length in nautical miles, 1 Aug 2025 – 31 Jul 2026: 136,814 legs by 581 Phenom 300s and 33,416 legs by 124 Praetor 500s, every leg with a known distance. The Phenom 300's trips bunch at 150–300 nm, the Praetor 500's at 150–300 nm.
Phenom 300 vs Praetor 500: on paper
Certified figures come from each type certificate data sheet, the rest from the manufacturer. Each figure names its source; a range covers the variants one page tracks together; a dash means we don’t have a source for that figure yet.
| Measure | Phenom 300 | Praetor 500 |
|---|---|---|
| Range (manufacturer) | 2,010 nm (Phenom 300E)Manufacturer (brochure, 2025) | 3,340 nm (Praetor 500)Manufacturer (brochure, PDF dated 7 Oct 2020) |
| High-speed cruise (manufacturer) | 464 kt (Phenom 300E)Manufacturer (brochure, 2025) | 466 kt (Praetor 500)Manufacturer (brochure, PDF dated 7 Oct 2020) |
| Takeoff distance (manufacturer) | 3,209 ft (Phenom 300E)Manufacturer (brochure, 2025) | 4,222 ft (Praetor 500)Manufacturer (brochure, PDF dated 7 Oct 2020) |
| Maximum takeoff weight (certified) | 17,968–18,551 lbUK CAA TCDS UK.TC.A.00091 Issue 4, p.8 | ≈ 35,760–37,570 lbEASA TCDS EASA.IM.A.526 Issue 12, p.17; pounds converted from the kilograms stated, approximate |
| Fuel capacity (certified) | —Not in our sources yet | ≈ 12,130–13,050 lbPraetor 500: EASA TCDS EASA.IM.A.526 Issue 12, p.17; pounds converted from the kilograms stated, approximate; Legacy 450: EASA TCDS EASA.IM.A.526 Issue 12, p.16; pounds converted from the kilograms stated, approximate |
| Maximum operating altitude (certified) | 45,000 ftEASA TCDS EASA.IM.A.158 Issue 11, p.9 | —Not in our sources yet |
| Passenger seats (certified) | Up to 9EASA TCDS EASA.IM.A.158 Issue 11, p.10 | Up to 9EASA TCDS EASA.IM.A.526 Issue 12, p.17 |
Phenom 300 vs Praetor 500: questions
Which is flown more, the Phenom 300 or the Praetor 500?
The Praetor 500, by about 277 estimated hours a year: the middle Praetor 500 flew ≈549 h a year, the middle Phenom 300 ≈272 h. That is a fleet median: the middle half of Praetor 500s logged 154–644 h and of Phenom 300s 96–550 h, so one aircraft can sit far from its type. In flights, the medians are 17 a month for the Phenom 300 and 31 for the Praetor 500.
Which lands more often for its hours, the Phenom 300 or the Praetor 500?
The Phenom 300: its middle aircraft flies 1.2 hours per landing, against 1.5 for the Praetor 500, 0.3 hours fewer per landing. More landings per hour means more pressurization cycles for the same time in the air. Short hops, legs under 300 nm, make up 45% of the middle Phenom 300's legs and 37% of the middle Praetor 500's.
Which flies longer trips, the Phenom 300 or the Praetor 500?
The Praetor 500, by 76 nm on the median leg: 420 nm for the middle aircraft, against 344 nm for the Phenom 300. 45% of Phenom 300 legs and 38% of Praetor 500 legs were under 300 nm, a gap of 7 percentage points; 9% and 19% were over 900 nm.
Which spends more nights by the sea, the Phenom 300 or the Praetor 500?
The Praetor 500, by 3 percentage points: its middle aircraft spends 8% of its nights within 2 km of the coast, the middle Phenom 300 5%. Salt air is one of the corrosion inputs a TailCheck report grades for one aircraft against its own type.
Which has the longer range on paper, the Phenom 300 or the Praetor 500?
The manufacturers quote 2,010 nm (Phenom 300E) for the Phenom 300 and 3,340 nm (Praetor 500) for the Praetor 500. Those are book figures at stated conditions; how far the fleets actually fly is in the trip-length mix above.
Does this comparison include the Praetor 500?
Yes. The tracking data doesn't tell the Legacy 450 and Praetor 500 apart, so the Praetor 500 figures here cover all of them. The specs table names a figure’s variants where the sources separate them.
Cite this data
The Aircraft Ledger. “Embraer Phenom 300 vs Embraer Praetor 500.” Data to 31 July 2026. theaircraftledger.com/compare/embraer-phenom-300-vs-embraer-praetor-500
Embed a chart
<iframe src="https://theaircraftledger.com/embed/compare/embraer-phenom-300-vs-embraer-praetor-500/fatigue" title="Fatigue: Hours per landing" width="100%" height="360" style="border:0;max-width:960px" loading="lazy"></iframe>Method: Phenom 300s and Praetor 500s with most departures in North America, ADS-B tracking. Flight measures cover 1 Aug 2025 – 31 Jul 2026; each figure is the median of its own fleet, with the middle half (25th–75th percentile). Estimated hours from time in the air. We assume the longest runway at each field, so short-runway figures are conservative. Specifications from type certificate data sheets and the manufacturers, each cited. About our data