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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 3550.PDF
Regional jets Final assembly started in July with the joining of the fuselage, including the locally produced centre section II and nose which, after painting, were mated with the Embraer-assembled main wing in August. The final major structural assemblies had been installed by last month, compris ing the Gamesa-built empennage and KHI-supplied engine pylons, in readiness for the arrival of the first 14,2001b-thrust (63kN) General Electric CF34-8E engines. Aircraft systems were due to have been powered up for the first time by mid-October, with some testing due to be completed before rollout. "Aircraft systems will be extensively tested prior to first flight, comprising dedi cated functional and operational tests, which integrate the hydraulic, electrical and pneumatic systems with the running turbofan engine. Some critical systems such as fly-by-wire flight controls will be double checked. We'll perform approxi mately 500h of aircraft ground tests prior to first flight," says Affonso. The ERJ-170 iron bird has been running since spring this year, and will have clocked up over l,000h by the time aircraft 0001 flies. This is the first test rig of its type to be built by Embraer that inte grates hydraulics, landing gear, engine thrust-reverser and cockpit. A separate CAE-built engineering development simu lator is being used to define the aircraft's fly-by-wire control laws and evaluate handling characteristics. Third in line on the ERJ-170 assembly floor behind the second flight test aircraft is the static test airframe, which will have been installed in a rig for the start of load testing by the time of rollout. Unlike ear lier Embraer programmes, the static speci men will be tested to destruction at the end of a 30-month programme. Testing of a full-scale fatigue article is due to begin in the middle of next year, with the aim of taking the airframe to 240,000h - or three times the ERJ-170's planned service life. Exceeding requirements To meet new JAA stipulations, Embraer plans to rack up 5,000 simulated flight cycles (SFC), or the equivalent of two years' operation, prior to certification, and around 20,000SFC before first delivery. It will also conduct a "barrel test", taking a fuselage section under pressure for 360,0O0SFC. "These figures exceed the JAA requirement of two years of operation prior to certification, and provide an excel lent maturity level at entry into service," says Affonso. Flight testing will extend over l,800h and involve six aircraft which Embraer aims to have in the air by next April. Two ERJ-170 - WORKSHARE | Embraer Latecoere Mj Embraer (leader) * Kawasaki, Sonaca • Hamilton Sundstrand • (tail cone, APU) /o» Ji FLIGHT m^f niiiUHi I'm w \ Gamesa | GE /M \ ^ ^"*^"''_^^^^^^55> will be dedicated for flying quality testing, two will be used predominantly for system testing while the remaining pair will be fully configured with seating, galleys, oxy gen and lighting, and used for function and reliability testing. Embraer expects to receive Brazilian CTA certification using a single configuration of aircraft, followed by US Federal Aviation Administration approval in early 2003. A critical flight-test objective is to vali date the ERJ-170's projected field perfor mance and steep approach capabilities needed to operate in and out of London City and Switzerland's Lugano airports. Embraer has a fall-back plan to flight test a ventral speed-brake on the ERJ-170, but is confident the aircraft will meet its short- runway guarantees equipped only with standard double-slotted flaps. Embraer has erected a new 16,000m2 (172,000ft2) building, housing seven assembly docks, for the start of ERJ-170 series production, which is due in the sec ond quarter of next year. The plant will produce up to eight aircraft a month, but in the prevailing financial climate, the ini tial rate could be cut to as few as 30 in the first year. Announced ERJ-170 orders total 82 aircraft, of which Crossair and leasing company GE Capital Aviation Services account for all but two. An order by Regional Airlines of France for 10 aircraft is on hold for now. Embraer designed the ERJ-170 for growth, and two different stretch deriva tives are in development, with a fourth version in the pipeline. The aircraft that has progressed the furthest is the ERJ-190- 200, which Crossair also ordered and which is now midway through the JDR Embraer is aiming for 89% commonal ity with the ERJ-170 in terms of line- replaceable units, so it has sought to main tain the same team of partner suppliers. The 106- to 110- seat aircraft will be pow ered by the new 18,5001b-thrust CF34-10E engine, incorporating a wider 1.3m- (53in) diameter fan, which, in turn, will require taller main landing-gear from Liebherr. The only major change in the partner ship has been the allocation of overall design and manufacturing responsibility for the ERJ-190's larger 28.6m main wing to KHI including the winglets, making the Japanese company Embraer's largest struc tural supplier. KHI will maintain final assembly of the wing in Brazil at an as-yet undetermined site close to Embraer, so ensuring no major erosion in local con tent. This mirrors similar moves by other foreign suppliers, such as Sonaca's local subsidiary Sobraex and Liebherr's tie-up with Embraer Divisao Equipamentos (Flight International, 16-22 October). Four prototypes Trailing behind the ERJ-190-200 is the smaller -100, which had been intended as the baseline version until Crossair opted for the larger stretch. The ERJ-190-100 shares the -200's wing size, but the fuselage is 2.41m shorter, accommodating 96 to 104 passengers. Embraer is to build four ERJ-190 prototypes split equally between -100s and -200s. The larger version will fly first in mid-2003 and be delivered to Crossair in July 2004, while the ERJ-190- 100 will follow a year later, though the aircraft does not have a launch order. Another variant under study is the ERJ-170-200, a smaller and much simpler 1.78m stretch of the baseline 70- to 76-seat design. The aircraft would be able to accommodate 78 to 86 passengers in a sin gle-class configuration depending on seat pitch, and has been tailored to counter the 84-seat Bombardier CRJ900 and the wider Fairchild Dornier 728JET, which can be configured for either a four-abreast busi ness or five abreast economy layout. If the ERJ-170-200 is launched in the near future, as expected, its development schedule would parallel the ERJ-190-200's, and put it ahead of the ERJ-190-100 (Flight International, 24-30 July, P14).B 36 23-29 OCTOBER 2001 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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