Graham Warwick/SAO PAULO
Embraer will decide within a year whether to develop a larger member of its regional jet family. Speaking at the roll-out of the 37-seat ERJ-135 on 12 May, president Mauricio Botelho said: "We think there is a market, but we are not sure if it is for 70, 75 or 80 seats. We will have a full definition completed within a year."
The Brazilian manufacturer has been studying the 70-seat market for some time, but has now expanded its efforts to include larger aircraft. "The market does exist, but the size of the market and the characteristics of the aircraft are not clear," says Botelho. Aircraft with fewer than 70 seats are also being looked at, the Embraer chief says.
"We are not sure of the market," agrees industrial vice-president Satoshi Yokota. One reason for looking at aircraft with more than 70 seats is Crossair's requirement for an 80/100-seat aircraft. Embraer, meanwhile, continues to study a range of cabin cross sections and performance targets.
Embraer plans to fly the ERJ-135 in July, followed in October by the second prototype. Brazilian and US certification and first deliveries are planned for July 1999. The first and second aircraft have been modified from the first two ERJ-145s.
The two versions retain 94% part number commonality, with no system architecture changes. This has reduced the certification flight-test requirements, Embraer says.
ERJ-135 production will start at three a month and Embraer plans to build a combined total of 12 ERJ-135s and ERJ-145s a month, beginning in September 1999. The company has 73 firm orders for the 37-seater, launched last September.
At the roll-out, the manufacturer introduced a long range variant, the ERJ-135LR, which has a derated version of the more powerful Allison AE3007A1 on the newly certificated ERJ-145LR. The ERJ-135LR offers a range of 2,780km (1,500nm), compared with the basic ERJ-135ER's 2,200km. More importantly, hot and high performance has been improved substantially.
Source: Flight International
