Embraer EMB 202 Ipanema

Manufacturer: Embraer
First flight: 1970
Introduced: December, 1971
Status: Active
Produced: 1969-
Number built: 1000+
Unit cost: ~US$247,000 (Ethanol-powered version) ~US$233,000 (Avgas-powered version)

The Embraer EMB 202 Ipanema is an agricultural aircraft used for aerial application, particularly crop dusting. It is produced by Indxºstria Aeronx¡utica Neiva, a subsidiary of Embraer located in the Brazilian city of Botucatu. The latest version of this aircraft is the first ethanol-powered fixed-wing aircraft, which could give it an economical advantage over the gasoline version. The aircraft is widely employed in Brazil, having market share of about 80%, and the 1,000th delivery was completed on March 15, 2005. Besides aircraft, alcohol-conversion kits for gasoline-powered Ipanemas are also sold. It's common to think that the Ipanema name comes from the Rio de Janeiro beach, but it actually comes from a farm with the same name, where it was first tested.

Development

In the 1960s, the development of a Brazilian agriculture aircraft was motivated by the expansion of agricultural products' market, specifically soybean and sugar cane. During this time, the Ipanema aircraft was developed by engineers of the Aeronautics Technological Institute (ITA) on the Ipanema Farm, located in Sorocaba.

The first version of the aircraft, the EMB-200, made its first flight in 1970 and was certified in December 1971. The aircraft was equipped with a 260 HP piston engine. Series production started in 1972 by Embraer. In September 1974, the EMB-201 was introduced, including many improvements such as a 300 HP engine, new propeller, new wings and increased capacity.

In 1982, the production of Ipanema was transferred to Indxºstria Aeronx¡utica Neiva, recently acquired by Embraer. In 1992, a new model, called EMB-202 or Ipanemx£o( big Ipanema), was released. The new aircraft had improvements on aerodynamics, a 40% greater capacity, and an optional, modern equipment for electrostatic aerial application.

In the following years, Neiva made significant improvements on the aircraft, such as adding winglets to the wing tips, adding an air conditioning system to the cabin, lowering the position of the wings, decreasing the resistance and reducing the weight of the exhaust system.

Since ethanol is largely available in Brazil, costing only about 25-30% as much as aviation gasoline, many Brazilian farmers have attempted to fuel gasoline-powered Ipanemas with alcohol, with varying degrees of success. The result of this was the development of an alcohol-powered Ipanema, which was certified by the Brazilian General Command for Aerospace Technology (CTA) on October 19, 2004. The Ipanema engine had also 20% lower maintenance and operational costs.

Variants

In parentheses are shown certification dates.

EMB-200 (December 1971) with a 260 HP Lycoming engine, Mc Cauley propeller and 550 kg capacity.
EMB-200A (December 1973) similar to EMB-200 with Hartzell propeller and an improved engine.
EMB-201 (September 1974) with 300 HP Lycoming engine, Hartzell propeller and 750 kg capacity, plus improved aerodynamics.
EMB-201A (April 1977) similar to EMB-201 with a new panel, controls and wings.
EMB-201R Single-seat glider-tug aircraft for the Brazilian Air Force. Three were built for the air force academy gliding club. Brazilian Air Force designation U-19.
EMB-202 (May 1991) with 300 HP Lycoming engine, Hartzell propeller and 950 kg capacity.
EMB-202A (October 2004) with 320 HP Lycoming engine, using ethanol fuel and a propeller with better performance, lower maintenance and lower operational costs.

Operators

Brazil

Brazilian Air Force

Specifications (EMB-202A)

General characteristics

Crew: One pilot
Capacity: 950 kg (2,094 lb) of chemicals
Length: 7.43 m (24.37 ft)
Wingspan: 11.69 m (38.45)
Height: 2.22 m (7.28 ft)
Loaded weight: 1,800 kg (3,968 lb)
Powerplant: 1 x— modified Lycoming IO-540-K1J5, Hartzell constant speed propeller, 320 hp (240 kW)

Performance

Cruise speed: 222 km/h (138 mph)
Stall speed: 88 km/h (55 mph)
Range: 610 km (379 mi)

Other

Usable fuel capacity: 264 lt of ethanol fuel (70 US gal.)
Fuel consumption: 98 lt/h (26 US gal.)
Take-off distance: 354 m (1,161 ft)
Landing distance: 170 m (558 ft)

Optional Equipment

Fast refueling valve
Swathmaster
Electrostatic crop-dusting system
Differential GPS

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Hongdu N-5
Piper PA-25 Pawnee
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December 2005 issue, pg 60-61, Scientific American
Embraer Press Release 2005/03/15 NEIVA DELIVERS 1000TH IPANEMA CROP DUSTER
Embraer Press Release 2004/10/19 ETHANOL-FUELED IPANEMA CERTIFIED BY THE CTA

Embraer EMB 202 Ipanema Pictures

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Source: WikiPedia