December 12th 2019, the Embraer E175-E2 made its inaugural flight from the company’s facility in São José dos Campos, Brazil. The E175-E2 is the third and last member of the current E-Jets E2 family. The 24-month flight testing has officially begun.
Today’s flight of the E175-E2 marks the completion of our vision to produce a family of new-generation commercial aircraft that bring unparalleled cost savings to our customers, exceptional comfort for their passengers and fewer emissions for the planet. The E190-E2 and the E195-E2 are already stellar performers. The E175-E2 is just as impressive. We’re eager to get working on certification.
John Slattery, President & CEO, Embraer Commercial Aviation
The E175-E2 departed at 11:07 local time from the runway adjacent to Embraer’s Faria Lima complex, it flew for 2 hours and 18 minutes. Embraer’s Captain Mozart Louzada commanded the aircraft along with first officer, Wander Almodovar Golfetto and flight engineers Gilberto Meira Cardoso and Mario Ito.
Embraer will use three aircraft for the E175-E2 certification. The first and second prototypes will be used for aerodynamic, performance and system tests. The third prototype will be used to validate maintenance tasks and will be outfitted with interior furnishings.
The E175-E2 has one additional row of seats, compared to the first-generation E175, and can be configured with 80 seats in two classes, or up to 90 in a single class. The airplane will save up to 16% in fuel and 25% in maintenance costs per seat, compared to the E175.
The E175-E2 features new Pratt & Whitney GTF™ PW1700G ultra-high bypass ratio engines, a completely new wing, full fly-by-wire controls and new landing gear. Compared to the first-generation E175, 75% of aircraft systems are new.
For the E-Jets program, Embraer has logged more than 1,800 orders and 1,500 aircraft have been delivered.
Obviously the world now needs connection between its furthest ports. We want to move at internet speeds. We already have enormous data on supersonic flight that can be utilized to make supersonic public transport. Why so slow in going in this direction?
The Concord was a masterpiece before its time. But can you imagine it with modern glass cockpit and high efficiency engines – how great that would be. I hope that there would be greater development in this area. Enduring 2 sunrises is definitely not the way to go in 2020.