Embraer Turboprop Transports
Story and photos by Ken Kula
Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer S.A. is based in Sao Paulo. The company was formed in 1969 as a government corporation with a government-appointed president. The company began building domestic military and civilian aircraft designs, and it began exporting civilian transports in 1977.
We’ll look at three different turboprop-powered designs in this article, two regional airliners and a turboprop executive transport.
The Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante was produced from 1968 through 1991 with 498 examples (plus prototypes) produced for military and civilian operators. The original aircraft use was with the Brazilian Air Force, which designated it as the C-95… with versions in aerial survey, radio calibration and transport uses. Domestic Brazilian operators began using the airliner in 1973, and a few years later the type began winning its civilian certifications around the world. About half of the production remained within Brazil, the others were exported worldwide. The aircraft was unpressurized and could seat 18 to 21 passengers in airline operations.
The Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia was an enlarged airliner based upon the wing design of the EMB-110 Bandeirante. A new, pressurized fuselage was designed with room for up to for 30 passengers. The larger aircraft first took the sky in 1983 and was produced through 2001. More powerful engines were fitted, and extended range and cargo versions have been manufactured. The Brazilian Air Force again took delivery of the home-produced transport, designating them as VC-97s. Slightly more than 350 examples were produced.
A downsized version of the Brasilia is the EMB-121 Xingu. It too was designed around the EMB-110 wing design, with a pressurized fuselage. Two versions were built, the later variant was roomier and could hold 8 or 9 passengers. The aircraft was used as a civil executive transport and a military transport and training aircraft. 106 airframes were produced, with roughly half being exported, the other half remaining in Brazil.
Between these three twin-turboprop designs, the Brazilian manufacturer produced slightly less than 1,000 airframes – about half of them were operated outside of the South American country. These paved the way for two series of successful regional jet aircraft, the EMB-135/-145 and EMB-170/175 and EMB-190/195.
