Embraer’s E190-E2 Takes To The Air

The high bypass ratio of the E190-E2’s Pratt & Whitney PW1900G geared turbofans and gulled wing root are evident in this head-on view of prototype “Echo Yankee” in the final moments before first flight on May 23. Note the static air data cone dangling from the top of the vertical fin.

With thousands of Embraer employees looking on, the prototype E190-E2 taxies to Runway 15 at the company’s Sao Jose dos Campos facility for its maiden flight. A total of four aircraft will be involved in the test and certification program, the last of which will have a fully configured interior. Two additional aircraft will be assigned for the E195-E2 certification program targeted at entry into service in 2019. Three more aircraft will be used to certify the shorter-fuselage E175-E2, scheduled to enter service in 2020.

Externally distinguished from the current E190 by the higher-bypass engines and 1.6-ft. taller main landing gear to accommodate the 71-in. fan diameter of the PW1900Gs, the prototype E190-E2 lifts off at 1:06 p.m. local time. The E190-E2 seats up to 106 in a single class, or the same as the current-generation E190, but it has a 2,800 nm range, 400 nm more than today’s production version.

Embraer test pilot Mozart Louzada remarked on the performance of the PW1900G which, like the higher-bypass-ratio PW1100G on the Airbus A320neo, appears to offer a noticeable improvement in acceleration and responsiveness over current engines. “We have a Legacy 500 chase plane, and we were climbing faster than they were. I had to throttle back to let them catch up. It took us less than 18 min. to climb from 20,000 ft. to 41,000 ft., and that was without using maximum available thrust,” he says.

Test pilots explored the envelope to an altitude of 41,000 ft. and maximum airspeed (Vmo) and maximum Mach number of Mach 0.82 (Mmo), marking the first time such high-speed limits have been tested on the first flight of any Embraer aircraft. The aircraft was tested with the flight control system in direct law mode and normal law mode. The E190-E2 “was nicer to fly than predicted,” says Embraer test pilot Louzada, who commanded the aircraft along with Gerson de Oliveira Mendes and flight test engineers Alexandre Figueiredo and Carlos Silveira.

“Control harmony in rolls, pitch and using the rudder was all very good and, most importantly, was very like the current E-Jets,” Louzada says. “So we were able to verify that they fly about the same. As an E-Jet pilot, I certainly felt at home in the E2, despite the differences in the flight deck displays and the changes in technology and equipment.”

Touchdown on Runway 33 marked the completion of a 3-hr., 20-min. flight and the start of a certification effort that is expected to entail about 2,000 flight-test hours. Note the trailing-link-configured main landing gear. The initial aircraft will perform low-speed envelope-expansion tests and flying-qualities work, while the second will undertake engine-related work, flutter and high-speed tests as well as performance takeoff and landing evaluations. The third aircraft will be largely dedicated to systems testing, while the fourth will be used for cabin, interior, electro-magnetic environment and reliability tests.