The Embraer 175 has made its maiden flight, it was announced at Paris airshow. The 76-86 seat regional aircraft is the second member of the four-aircraft family to fly.
Serial No 0014 took off from Embraer's Sao Jose dos Campos facility, early yesterday morning, accompanied by its sibling Embraer 170, for a 120min flight in which it performed a range of systems validation tests.
"We are very pleased to see another member of the Embraer 170/190 family taking to the skies for the first time," says Embraer president and chief executive Mauricio Botelho.
"It is another important milestone in our main objective to develop and produce a whole new generation of jetliners for the 70-110 seat segment, offering an unparalleled combination of performance, operating economics and passenger comfort, able to meet and exceed the new and challenging requirements of the air transport industry."
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With a fuselage 70in (78cm) longer than that of the Embraer 170, the 175 offers about 10% more seating and cargo capacity, yet shares a common pilot type rating, a common cockpit, common flying qualities with its fly-by-wire system, and a common engine, the GE CF34-8E.
Embraer's order book for the 170/190 family stands at 234 orders and 289 options. Final assembly and outfitting of the second Embraer 175 (No 0017) is under way. The first aircraft will be used to test handling qualities and for performance evaluation tests. The second, scheduled to fly in the coming weeks, will be used for flutter, buffeting, systems and interior testing.
Luis Carlos Affonso, 170/190 programme director, says: "As a result of the similarity between the two aircraft, the flight test and certification campaign of the Embraer 175 will be based on the Embraer 170. "Thus the aircraft's flight test and certification campaign will be much shorter than its predecessors."
Source: Flight Daily News
