Embraer ERJ 145 family

The Embraer ERJ 145 family of regional jets are produced by Embraer, a Brazilian aerospace company. Family members include the ERJ 135, ERJ 140, ERJ 145, and Legacy, with the ERJ 145 being the largest of the group. The series are powered by two turbofan engines. The series is one of the most popular regional jet families in the world with primary competition coming from the Canadair Regional Jet.

History

Early design

The ERJ 145 was originally launched at the Paris Airshow in 1989 as a stretched and turbofan-powered modification of the EMB 120 Brasilia. Key components of this design included:

Straight wing (with winglets)
Wing-mounted engines
Range of 2500 km
75% parts commonality with the EMB 120.

Interim design

By 1990, Embraer engineers found that the results of wind-tunnel testing was safisfactory, and began considering a significantly different design from the EMB 120. A modified design was proposed which included:

22.3° swept wing (with winglet)
Wing-mounted engine
Range of 2500 km

Production design

The second design showed better performance in wind tunnel testing, but the combination of swept wings and wing-mounted engines required an undercarriage which was significantly higher than previous iterations. The design evolved until late 1991, at which time it was frozen. Though the aircraft went through many alterations before it was finalized, it did retain a few of the original influences of the EMB 120 such as the three abreast seating (2+1) configuration. The key features of the production design included:

Rear mounted engines
Swept wings (no winglets)
"T"-tail configuration
Range of 2500km

Derivatives

The ERJ 140 is based on the ERJ 145 with 96% parts commonality and the same crew-type rating. The only significant changes are a shorter fuselage, a slightly de-tuned engine and an increased range. At launch, Embraer estimated the cost of an ERJ 140 to be approximately $15.2 million U.S. dollars. The estimated cost of development of the ERJ 140 was $45 million US dollars. The ERJ 135, with a entry into service date of 1999, has 95% parts commonality with the ERJ 145, but is 11.7 feet (3.6 m) shorter.

The ERJ 145 seats 50 passengers, while the ERJ 140 seats 44, and the ERJ 135 seats 37. The ERJ 140 was designed with fewer seats in order to meet the needs of airlines based in the United States which have an agreement with the pilot's union as to the number of 50 seat aircraft that can be operated.

In 2003, Embraer entered a partnership with the Harbin Aviation Industry Group of Harbin, China. The resulting company, Harbin Embraer, began producing the ERJ 145 for the Chinese market by assembling kits premanufactured by other worldwide Embraer operations.

Operations

The first flight of the ERJ 145 was on August 11, 1995, with the first delivery in December 1996 to ExpressJet Airlines (then the regional division of Continental Airlines). ExpressJet is the largest operator of the ERJ 145, with 270 of the nearly 1000 ERJ 145s in service. The second largest operator is American Eagle, with 206 ERJ 145 aircraft. Chautauqua Airlines also operates 95 ERJ 145s through its alliances with American Connection, Delta Connection, US Airways Express and United Express. By some accounts, the ERJ 145 has a cost of ownership of about $2,500,000 per year.

As of early 2005, 74 ERJ 140s had been built with outstanding firm orders from several airlines. Though the marketing designation for this aircraft is ERJ 140LR, Embraer's internal designation, and also that of FAA certification, is EMB 135KL.

The ERJ 140 was introduced in September of 1999, had its first flight on June 27, 2000 and entered commercial service in July of 2001. American Eagle Airlines, the regional jet subsidiary of American Airlines, operates the majority of the ERJ 140s built. Mesa Airlines, and Chautauqua Airlines also operate the ERJ 140 in an increasing number of routes.

Models

Since original production began in 1995, Embraer has produced a number of design modifications to meet the specifications of their varied customers.

Civilian models

There are three extended range aircraft of the ERJ-145, as listed below. All hold the same amount-50 passengers.

ERJ 145 - Baseline model.
ERJ 145ER - Extended range (slightly increased fuel capacity).
ERJ 145LR - Long Range (increased fuel capacity and upgraded engines).
ERJ 145XR - Extra Long Range (numerous improvements, including winglets for fuel efficiency, a center fuel tank, increased weight capacity, higher top speed and more powerful engines).
ERJ 145EU - Model for European market.
ERJ 140 - Simple shrink of the ERJ 145, seating six fewer passengers, for a total of 44 passengers.
ERJ 135 - Simple shrink of the ERJ 145, seating thirteen fewer passengers, for a total of 37 passengers.
Legacy - Business jet variant. Main Article: Embraer Legacy

Military models

C-99A - Transport model
EMB 145SA (R-99 model A) - Airborne Early Warning model
EMB 145RS (R-99 model B) - Remote sensing model
EMB 145MP/ASW - Maritime patrol model

Military operators

Accident history

The ERJ 145 has an outstanding service record with no reported crashes or fatalities due to mechanical malfunction. There have been a small number of reported incidents involving the ERJ 145. In one case a Rio-Sul pilot descended beyond the normal rates and hit the runway at four times the normal speed. In the other case, a Continental Express (ExpressJet) flight overran a Cleveland runway in blizzard conditions; there were no injuries and the aircraft was returned to service. Another ExpressJet aircraft departed a runway at high speed in Texas during a training flight; that aircraft was a total loss, but again no injuries were sustained. On May 2, 2006 two ERJ 145's were involved in separate incidents at two U.S. airports. The first incident involved a Continental Express jet blowing a tire on its left-side landing gear on takeoff at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. The plane landed safely with no injuries.The second incident involved a American Eagle flight which also blew out a tire on takeoff at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. The plane skidded off the runway coming to rest 25 feet away in the grass. There were no injuries reported.^*

Specifications

General characteristics

Crew: 3 (pilot, co-pilot, flight attendant)
Capacity:
- ERJ 135: 37 passengers
- ERJ 140: 44 passengers
- ERJ 145: 50 passengers
Length:
- ERJ 135: 26.33 m
- ERJ 140: 28.45 m (93 ft 4 in)
- ERJ 145: 29.9 m (98 ft 0 in)
Wingspan: 20.04 m (65 ft 9 in)
Height: 6.76 m (22 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 51.2 m² (551 ft²)
Empty:
- ERJ 140: 11,740 kg (25,88102 lb)
- ERJ 145: 11,667 kg (25,722 lb)
Loaded:
- ERJ 140: 17,100 kg (37,700 lb)
Maximum takeoff:
- ERJ 135: 22,500 kg
- ERJ 140: 21,100 kg (46,500 lb)
- ERJ 145: 20,600 kg (45,414 lb)
Powerplant: 2× Rolls-Royce AE 3007A turbofans, 33.0 kN (7,420 lb_f) thrust each

Performance

Maximum speed: 834 km/h (518 mph, Mach 0.78)
Range:
- ERJ 135: 3,361 km
- ERJ 140: 3,019 km (1,876 miles)
- ERJ 145ER:' 2,963 km (1,841 miles)
Service ceiling: 11,278 m (37,000 ft)
Rate of climb:
- ERJ 140/145: 780 m/min (2,560 ft/min)
Wing loading:
- ERJ 140: 334 kg/m² (68 lb/ft²)
Thrust-to-weight:
- ERJ 145: 0.58:1

References

ERJ 145 information at Airliners.net
Information on Harbin Embraer
EMB-145 Press Release for Rio-Sul Crash
Endres, Gunter and Gething, Mike. (2002). Aircraft Recognition Guide, (2nd Ed.). New York: Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 0007137214

External links

Brazilian airliners 1990-1999 | Brazilian airliners 2000-2009 | Embraer aircraft

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