It has been known for years that the rest of the world is not going to sit idly by while the U.S. manufacturing base shrinks. First it was Japan, then China and now Brazil. South America has been ignored for years at our own economic peril. Brazil wants to be a player on the world stage. With a stable economy and soon flush with money from its huge oil finds, Brazil is quickly becoming an economic power in the hemisphere.

There is no denying the the Phenom 100 and soon 300 are expertly built and marketed aircraft. The Brazilians correctly assumed the future of the market, while US manufacturers sat on their laurels in 2007 and 2008 with billions in back orders and found themselves once again flat footed as the market changed rapidly. While I believe that the Citation Mustang and CJ4 represent good products and certainly the best from Wichita, Cessna has simply failed to capture the same buzz because of the constant media scrutiny from the national press and a less than effective marketing plan.

I have had a chance to sit in the Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 and both really show Embraer listening to both customers and pilots. The cockpit and cabin are well laid out, bright and airy and made of high quality materials. Even though the 100 is in the “light jet” category, it looks far bigger on both the inside and the outside. They will make exciting additions to any corporate or charter fleet.

The challenge now is how Cessna, Beechcraft and Gulfstream can recapture the lead. The first step is to get past the political rhetoric and effectively market their aircraft as the best in the world. Show “real world” comparisons to the competition and PROVE how their products are better. This type of marketing needs to be done NOW. More light jet and larger aircraft are on the way from other companies (such as the HondaJet). If action is not taken immediately, we run the risk of the same kind of scenario that devestated the auto industry in the last 30 years.