Now preparing to fly the third E190-E2 prototype, Brazil’s Embraer arrives here at Farnborough on a decidedly high note as its latest airliner program progresses faster than even company executives had expected. Almost two months into a flight test program that original schedules suggested wouldn’t start until some time in the second half of the year, Embraer (Stand OE6) has distinguished itself not only with the speed at which the E2 program has advanced, but in the apparent precision with which engineers predicted its design would mature.
The fact that the airplane already weighs less than the original target, reflects its early maturity, Embraer Commercial Aviation COO Luis Carlos Affonso told AIN ahead of the show. “This is very rare, to have an airplane at this stage of a program that is not overweight,” he said. “This gives us lots of reassurance that this, indeed, will be a very efficient airplane.
“Another important goal that we had was to not put so much energy on the first airplanes, that the others would take too long or would get delayed,” said Affonso. In all, the program schedule calls for 2,000 flight-test hours, roughly the same number needed to certify the recently introduced Legacy 500 business jet.
The first E190-E2 flew for the first time from the company’s facilities in São José dos Campos, Brazil, on May 24. During the three-hour, 20-minute maiden mission, Embraer captain Mozart Louzada and first officer Gerson de Oliveira retracted the landing gear, flew the airplane to its maximum altitude of 41,000 feet and its top cruise speed of Mach 0.82 and engaged its new fly-by-wire system in normal mode.
“The message is the airplane is very mature, very robust; all the investments we made in modeling, simulation, the iron bird and all the tests we did on the ground really paid off,” said Affonso.
Louzada reported that the E2’s handling characteristics precisely mimic those of the E1 despite the relatively extensive changes to the wing and the new airplane’s significantly heavier Pratt & Whitney PW1900G engines. “Most important for us in terms of the pilots and crew that will be in the cockpit is that the design driver that we established from the beginning was a common type rating,” said Louzada. “A very good thing is when you sit in the cockpit, even though you see different technologies…the pilot will feel completely at home…I would say there is no difference at all [between the E1’s and E2’s flight characteristics.] By ‘tricking’ the fly-by-wire system, which is a closed-loop technology, we were able to make the E2 fly exactly like the E1.”
Affonso attributed the early maturity mainly to the proficiency of the project team and the experience the company has gained from its busy development schedules. “In this project, really we have applied everything that we have learned [from past projects],” he explained. “Yes, we had some buffer, but things went better than expected in terms of the functioning of the systems, the design, the build of the structures.”
One of the other keys to the program’s apparent maturity lies not only in Embraer’s main São José dos Campos campus, site of final assembly and now wing assembly, but across town in the Eugênio de Melo facility, where the static/fatigue test airframe and the E190-E2 iron bird tests. The iron bird does not include an airframe, but it incorporates the E2’s components and systems, such as hydraulics, avionics and flight controls. The iron bird has so far performed 18,000 hours of tests since it began “flying” in mid-2015, and plans call for another 10,000 hours before expected certification in the first half of 2018.
Test Planes
The program calls for the use of four flight-test airplanes. It expects the fourth—equipped with a full interior—late this year or early next year. While Embraer outfitted the first three airplanes identically to aid in schedule flexibility, plans call for the first airplane to perform mainly low-speed and flight quality testing and the second airplane primarily high-speed testing.
By the end of the campaign the first two airplanes will both participate in takeoff and landing performance testing, while the third concentrates on systems, explained director of flight operations and flight test engineer Alexandre Figueiredo. “Sometimes [other flight test campaigns] have different instrumentation between airplanes to minimize the cost of instrumentation,” he said. “But we changed our minds here and spent some more money on instrumentation to have more flexibility.”
Embraer Commercial Aviation CEO Paulo Cesar Silva told AIN that the early first flight won’t likely translate into earlier delivery to the E190-E2’s launch customer, the identity of which remains undecided. “I wish, but my engineers here are saying they would like to use the full time to get an even more mature aircraft at EIS [entry into service],” said Silva. “I think this is a very good idea. So let’s not rush, but be sure that as it goes into EIS, it will be a terrific aircraft by all means.”
In terms of production, the program’s capacity can reach 13 airplanes per month, said Affonso. Although Embraer built the E2 prototypes on the existing E-Jet assembly line, it must install all new rigs for the new airplanes because of the fairly extensive design changes between the E1 and E2.
Apart from the new engines, the most significant change involved the wings, assembly of which now takes place in São José dos Campos. Still building the E1 wings at its plant in Gavião Peixoto, Brazil, Embraer decided to move the function for all three E2 models to its main plant to help streamline the production system and reduce logistics and inventory costs. Originally a site occupied by former E-Jet wing producer Kawasaki Heavy Industries, the Gavião Peixoto plant has belonged to Embraer every since it assumed responsibility for wing assembly in 2006.
Other subassemblies now in São José dos Campos include the forward fuselage and the lower center fuselage section 2. In France, Latecoere’s work on the passenger and emergency exit doors has progressed well, said Affonso, as has Aernnova’s empennage work in Spain.
Responsible not only for systems integration and final assembly but also for fabrication of a high proportion of the airplane’s structural components, Embraer builds the E2’s wings, some 75-percent of the fuselage and the landing gear. Fuselage subassembly suppliers include Triumph, which builds the sections just aft of the wings and ahead of the empennage. Other suppliers and partners include Liebherr, (control systems for flaps and slats), Rockwell Collins (horizontal stabilizer control system), UTC Aerospace Systems (wheels, brakes, APU, electrical system), Intertechnique (engine and APU fuel feed, pressure refueling, fuel transfer, fuel tank inerting and ventilation, and fuel gauging and control) and Crane Aerospace & Electronics (electronic control module for landing gear, brake control systems and proximitysensors).
Apart from the switch in engines from the GE CF34s used in the E1s to the Pratt & Whitney geared turbofans in the E2s, what Affonso termed important supplier changes included the switch from UTAS to Liebherr for the engine bleed-air system. Others involved the award for pilot seats to England’s Ipeco in place of Zodiac. Affonso also said that Embraer decided to “verticalize” its structural supply base, taking responsibility for the forward fuselage section 1 and center fuselage 3 from Latecoere, forexample.