Aircraft Factfile and Recognition Guide – Embraer ERJ-135/-140/-145 Series
ERJ-135
The ERJ-135 is a 3,148km
range, 37 passenger airliner and a member of the Embraer Regional Jet series.
The launch of the aircraft was in 1997 and the first flight was carried out in
1998. Certification from the Brazilian Centro Tecnico Aerospacial (CTA), the US
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Joint Aviation
Authorities (JAA) was awarded in 1999. The aircraft entered service with
Continental Express and American Eagle in 1999. 132 ERJ-135 regional jets have
been ordered for operators including British Midland, Chautauqua Airlines, City
Airlines, Flandre Air, Jetmagic, Luxair, Proteus and South African Air Link. A
production facility for the ERJ-135/140/145 aircraft has been set up in Harbin,
China, in a joint venture with Harbin Aircraft.
The aircraft shares 98% parts and systems commonality, as well as crew rating,
with the other members of the ERJ-135/140/145 family. Final assembly, systems
integration and test are carried out at Embraer's aerospace manufacturing
facilities in Sao Paulo. Manufacture of some sections of the aircraft is
carried out by subcontractors and the subassemblies are transported to Sao
Paulo for assembly: Norton supplies the nose radome, Sonaca of Belgium the rear
and centre section of the fuselage, Gamesa of Spain the wings and ENAER of
Chile the fin and tailplane.
The aircraft has a circular cross section fuselage, rear mounted high by-pass
ratio engines, low mounted swept wings and a T-tailplane. The wings are of two
spar wing design with a third spar to support the landing gear. The wing
leading edges are made of aluminum. The wings of the Extra Long Range
ERJ-145XR are fitted with winglets which increase lift and improve the
efficiency of the wing at cruise speed by reducing the drag of the tip vortex.
The T tail is of aluminum box construction with aluminum leading edges on the
tailplane. The fin leading edge is of composite construction.
The cockpit is fitted with an all-glass Honeywell Primus 1000 digital avionics
suite with dual digital air data computers, dual attitude, heading and
reference system (AHRS), a traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS)
and a ground proximity warning system (GPWS). The instrumentation includes a
Flight Dynamics head up display that gives the aircraft CAT III landing
capability. Five electronic flight and information system displays, each
measuring 20.3cm x 18cm (8in x 7in), include two multi-function displays, two
primary flight displays and one in-flight engine-condition monitoring system
(IECMS). An optional flight management system and global positioning system can
be fitted. The aircraft has a Primus 1000 color weather radar and a dual
Primus II radio communications suite.
The main cabin, designed by the aircraft interior design company, C&D
Interiors of USA, provides three abreast seating for up to 37 passengers. The
interior of the aircraft can easily be configured in a different arrangement to
suit the customer's specific requirement. There is an airstairs passenger door
at the front port side of the cabin. The cabin and baggage compartments are
air-conditioned and pressurized by a Hamilton Sundstrand air-conditioning
system and Liebherr Aerospace pressurization system. The oxygen system is
supplied by EROS.
The aircraft has two rear mounted Rolls-Royce engines mounted on pylons,
supplied by Sonaca of Belgium. International Nacelle Systems supply the engine
nacelles and the optional clamshell thrust reversers. The engines are fitted
with full authority digital engine control and the engine air intakes are fitted
with an engine bleed air anti-icing system. The ERJ-135ER aircraft has Rolls
Royce AE 3007A engines rated at 31.3kN and the long range ERJ-135LR aircraft is
equipped with Rolls Royce AE 3007A1 engines which provide 15% more power. The
engines are flat rated at 33.1kN to provide improved climb characteristics and
improved cruise performance in high ambient temperatures. The aircraft is
equipped with a Parker Hannifin fuel management system. The integral wing tanks
have a capacity of 4,173kg of fuel in the ERJ-135ER and 5,187kg in the
ERJ-135LR. The aircraft is equipped with a Smiths electrical power system and a
tail mounted APIC APS-500 auxiliary power unit providing 18.6kW.
ERJ-145
The
ERJ-145 is Embraer's 50-passenger regional jet airliner. The aircraft first
entered service in 1996 and is operational with 27 airlines worldwide. There
are three variants of the aircraft: the 50 passenger ERJ-145 launched in 1989;
a shorter fuselage 37 passenger ERJ-135 launched in 1997; and the medium size
44 seat ERJ-140 launched in 1999. 908 ERJ aircraft have been ordered (with 336
options) and 798 delivered. The Extended Range ERJ-145ER is the original
version of the aircraft which has a range of 2,963km. The Long Range ERJ-145LR,
introduced in 1998, has a range of 3,037km. The Extra Long Range ERJ-145XR,
with improved fuel efficiency and a range of 3,704km, entered service with
launch customer, ExpressJet Airlines of USA, in November 2002. ExpressJet has
ordered 104 aircraft with 100 options. Recent orders include: six for China
Southern Airlines in February 2004, 16 ERJ-145LR for Chatauqua Airlines in
March 2004, and five for China Eastern Airlines in March 2005.
In December 2002, Embraer announced that the company would set up a production
facility for the ERJ-135/140/145 aircraft in China in a joint venture with
Harbin Aircraft. The first aircraft assembled in China was completed in
December 2003 and two aircraft have been delivered to China Southern Airlines.
The EMB-145AEW&C Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft is a
derivative of the ERJ-145 and is equipped with the Ericsson Erieye side looking
airborne radar. It is in service with the Brazilian Air Force and the Greek Air
Force. The Remote Sensing EMB-145RS equipped with surveillance mission equipment,
is in service with the Brazilian Air Force for the Brazilian Government SIVAM
Amazon surveillance program.
In August 2004, the ERJ-145 was chosen as the platform for the US Army's new
Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) battlefield surveillance system, under a Systems
Development and Demonstration (SDD) contract awarded to the team led by
Lockheed Martin. However, in July 2005, it was decided that the aircraft was
not large enough and would be replaced as the ACS platform.
The aircraft has a circular cross section fuselage, rear mounted engines, low
mounted swept wings and a T-tailplane. The nose radome was supplied by Norton
and the manufacture of the rear and centre section of the fuselage was
subcontracted to Sonaca of Belgium. The wings, supplied by Gamesa of Spain, are
of two spar wing design with a third spar to support the landing gear. The wing
leading edges are of aluminum. The wings of the Extra Long Range ERJ-145XR are
fitted with winglets which increase lift and improve the efficiency of the wing
at cruise speed by reducing the drag of the tip vortex. ENAER of Chile designed
and supplied the fin and the tailplane. The T tail is of aluminum box
construction with aluminum leading edges on the tailplane. The fin leading
edge is of composite construction.
The flight deck accommodates two pilots, a flight observer and one cabin crew.
The instrumentation includes a Flight Dynamics head up display that gives the
aircraft CAT III landing capability. Five electronic flight and information
system displays, each measuring 20.3cm x 18cm (8in x 7in) include two
multi-function displays, two primary flight displays and one in-flight engine
condition monitoring system (IECMS). The aircraft is fitted with a Honeywell
Primus 1000 digital avionics suite with dual digital air data computers, dual
attitude, heading and reference system (AHRS), a terrain collision avoidance
system (TCAS) and a ground proximity warning system (GPWS). An optional flight
management system and global positioning system can be fitted. The aircraft has
a Primus 1000 color weather radar and a dual Primus II radio communications
suite.
The aircraft has two Rolls-Royce engines mounted on pylons on the rear section
of the fuselage. The engine pylons are supplied by Sonaca of Belgium. The
engines are equipped with full authority digital engine control. International
Nacelle Systems developed and supplied the engine nacelles and the optional
clamshell thrust reversers. The engine air intakes are fitted with an engine
bleed air anti-icing system. The extended range version, the ERJ-145ER, has
Rolls Royce AE 3007A engines rated at 31.3kN with the option of more powerful
AE 3007A1 engines.
The long range ERJ-145LR aircraft is equipped with Rolls Royce AE 3007A1
engines which provide 15% more power. The engines are flat rated at 33.1kN to
provide improved climb characteristics and improved cruise performance in high
ambient temperatures. The extra long range ERJ-145XR aircraft is equipped with
Rolls-Royce AE 3007A1E engines. The high performance engines provide lower
specific fuel consumption (SFC) and improved performance in hot and high
conditions. The engines also yield a higher altitude for one-engine-inoperable
conditions. The aircraft is equipped with a Parker Hannifin fuel management
system. The integral wing tanks have a capacity of 4,173kg of fuel. The
aircraft is fitted with a Smiths electrical power system and an APIC APS-500
auxiliary power unit providing 18.6kW.
Recognizing the ERJ-135/-140/-145
The ERJ-135/-140/-145 family is a tricky series of aircraft to identify. Here's tips on how to identify one:
Wings:
Engines:
Fuselage:
Tail:
Specifications
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)
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: Two Rolls-Royce AE 3007A turbofans, 33.0 kN (7,420 lbf) thrust
each
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)
Crew: 3 (pilot, co-pilot, flight attendant)
Capacity:
ERJ-135: 37 passengers
ERJ-140: 44 passengers
ERJ-145: 50 passengers
Service ceiling: 11,278 m (37,000 ft)
Sources: Aerospace
Technology - ERJ-135, Aerospace
Technology - ERJ-145
Aircraft Factfile and
Recognition Guide
© 2006-2007 Steven Holzinger