Embraer subsidiary Neiva has unveiled an alcohol-fuelled variant of its Avgas-fuelled EMB 202 Ipanema agricultural aircraft, which it believes could boost sales of the single engine type by around 25%.
Neiva chief executive Paulo Urbanavcius says the Lycoming-powered Ipanema runs on alcohol distilled from sugar cane and is scheduled for certification "within 18 months". The Ipanema is designed to slash fuel costs by around 75%. However, Urbanavcius concedes that as alcohol has a higher density than Avgas the range will be reduced by around 30% from the aircraft's typical 800km (435nm). "But as Ipanema is targeted at the farming community, where range is not a key consideration, we expect the advantages of the new aircraft to outweigh the disadvantages," he says.
Neiva will concentrate its sales and marketing effort on the indigenous Brazilian farming community, where alcohol-based fuel is widely used to power automobiles.
Neiva is building 30 Ipanemas a year and expects to boost that figure by up to 40 aircraft when the alcohol-powered version enters service. Neiva also expects demand for about 50 retrofits a year, says Urbanavcius, from an operating fleet of 600 Ipanemas. "A new machine will cost $200,000 while a retrofit is priced at $20,000," he says.
Source: Flight International
