Expecting certification of the new E190-E2 “in the coming weeks,” Embraer on Friday issued several final specifications for the airplane, reflecting 1.3 percent less fuel burn than original estimates and a 750 nautical mile improvement in hot-and-high ranges from London City Airport and Mexico City. Originally targeting the first of half of this year for certification, the program has completed 2,000 flight test hours and, according to program director Fernando Antonio Oliveira, more than 98 percent of all testing needed for final approval.     

“We have a few flight tests with the authority's pilots,” he reported, following the completion on Thursday of maximum break energy tests and recent completion of engine controllability testing. Next, over the next two or three weeks, Embraer expects to close final documentation and consultation with certification authorities before they grant final approval. If all goes according to plan, the airplane will gain certification at least two and a half months before launch customer Wideroe of Norway flies its first revenue service on April 24.

In fact, Embraer concluded function and reliability tests using an E195-E2 during the third week of December, some three weeks earlier than planned.

Aerodynamic improvements result in a fuel burn rate decrease of 17.3 percent for the E190-E2 compared with the E190-E1, as opposed to the original estimate of 16 percent, explained Oliveira. The company attributes the improvement to better-than-expected performance of the new wing, an aerodynamically “clean” fuselage and the “smart” use of the airplane’s fly-by-wire controls.

Meanwhile, Embraer attributed performance improvements to a weight control program that allowed it to achieve its weight goals precisely on target, flap and slat optimization during the flight test campaign, drag reduction on key components associated with takeoff performance such as landing gear, and, finally “excellence in using the fly-by-wire.”

Hot-and-high improvements have resulted in an increase in range out of London City Airport to 2,200 nautical miles, allowing the E190-E2 to reach markets in Russia, Egypt, and Turkey. The company expects to gain certification for London City within two years, said Oliveira, who named E1 operators BA Cityflier, KLM Cityhopper, and Austrian Airlines as likely candidates for flying the E2 in and out of LCY. From Mexico City, range increases to 1,600 nautical miles, extending the E190’s reach to Canada and South America. Embraer also sees a lot of potential for the E2 in hot-and-high markets in China, where it already claims an 80 percent share of the market for airplanes in the 190’s seating category. The company now counts five Chinese E-Jet operators flying 100 aircraft.   

Embraer Commercial Aviation marketing vice president Rodrigo Silva e Souza explained that aerodynamic fine-tuning that resulted in the performance improvements also translate into a reduction in aircraft noise. Specifications show that the E190-E2 generates a 20 EPNdB margin on Stage 4, equating to a 3 EPNdB improvement over original expectations. Of course, the fuel burn reduction resulting from the aerodynamic improvements also reduce emissions, and Embraer estimates that 1.3 percent better fuel consumption translates into about 1,700 tons less CO₂ emissions per aircraft over ten years.

Finally, Embraer now expects that pilots will need only two and a half days worth of transition training for the E2, or half a day less than the original plan. “The differences in procedures are very small; there’s no need for a full flight simulator, and the 2.5 days actually represents less than 10 percent of the full flight training for a new aircraft,” said Silva. “So this level of transition training becomes a very strong selling point for current E-Jet operators...In times of a pilot shortage, to have one-tenth the normal transition training to jump to a more efficient aircraft is a very strong advantage compared to a new platform.”