As Embraer (Stand V01, Chalet CD31) awaits certification of the E190-E2 on static display here, Pratt & Whitney remains hard at work addressing the last of the teething troubles associated with the PW1000G geared turbofan family at the heart of the performance gains the Brazilian airframer expects to realize. Briefing reporters on Sunday on show grounds, Embraer Commercial Aircraft vice president of marketing Rodrigo Silva e Souza reported that “a few” of the E2s slated for delivery this year will carry GTFs fitted with early-wear combustor liners known as configuration B, but that by the end of the year all E2s will carry engines with longer-wear configuration C combustors. He added that Pratt & Whitney will retrofit the new combustors onto all the airplanes originally fitted with configuration B by year-end as well.

Out of between 85 and 95 E-Jets Embraer expects to deliver this year, some 10 percent will be E2s, said Silva. Plans call for first delivery to Norway’s Wideroe in April.

Final specifications for the airplane released late last month include 1.3 percent better fuel burn than original estimates, a more than 1,000-nautical-mile improvement in range from London City Airport and an additional 600 nautical miles out of Mexico City.

Aerodynamic improvements result in fuel-burn-rate decrease of 17.3 percent compared with that of the E190-E1, as opposed to the original estimate of 16 percent. 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. More improvements come from flap slap and slat optimization during the flight test campaign and drag reduction on key elements such as landing gear.