Embraer EMB-135KL (ERJ-140LR)
Twin-engine low-wing regional jet airliner, Brazil

Archive Photos 1

American Eagle, Embraer EMB-135KL (N837AE, c/n 145647, 2002) taking off from LAX on 10/08/2011. (Photo by John Shupek copyright © 2011 Skytamer Image)

Overview 2

The Embraer ERJ 145 family is a series of regional jets produced by Embraer, a Brazilian aerospace company. Family members include the ERJ 135 (37 passengers), ERJ 140 (44 passengers), and ERJ 145 (50 passengers), as well as the Legacy business jet and the R-99 family of military aircraft. The ERJ 145 is the largest of the group. Each jet in the series is powered by two turbofan engines. The family’s primary competition comes from the Bombardier CRJ regional jets.

Development 2

Early Design

The ERJ 145 was 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:

Interim Design

By 1990, Embraer engineers found that results from wind-tunnel testing were less than satisfactory, and began considering a significantly different design from the EMB 120. The proposed modified design included a slightly (22.3°) swept wing with winglets, as well as engines mounted in underwing nacelles. This second design showed markedly better aerodynamic performance, but the combination of swept wings and wing-mounted engines required an unusually high, and therefore heavy undercarriage.

Production Design

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 which was a similar configuration used for the Embraer/FMA CBA 123 Vector design which never reached production. The key features of the production design included:

The first design was intended to retain as much commonality as possible with the EMB 120. However, the aircraft has sold well thus overcoming the initial setbacks. Embraer delivered 892 units of all variants through 2006, and predicted that another 102 units would be delivered in the 2007-2016 time period.

Derivatives

ERJ 140: 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-rated engine and an increased range. At launch, Embraer estimated the cost of an ERJ 140 to be approximately US$15.2 million. The estimated cost of development of the ERJ 140 was US$45 million. The ERJ 135, with a service entry date of 1999, has 95% parts commonality with the ERJ 145, but is 11.7 feet (3.6 m) shorter.

ERJ 145: The ERJ 145 seats 50 passengers, 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 some major United States airlines, which have an agreement with the pilots’ union as to the number of 50-seat aircraft that can be operated in their mixed fleets. The Major airline agreed with their pilots’ union to limit the number of jets flown by their affiliates. One of the limits was a restriction of the number of planes with 45 seats or more.

In 2003, Embraer entered a partnership with the Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation of Harbin, China. The resulting company, Harbin Embraer, began producing the ERJ 145 for the Chinese market by assembling complete knock down kits pre-manufactured by other worldwide Embraer operations.

Operations 2

The first flight of the ERJ 145 was on August 11, 1995, with the first delivery in December 1996 to ExpressJet Airlines, which was then the regional division of Continental Airlines. ExpressJet is the largest operator of the ERJ 145, with 270 of the nearly 1000 ERJ 145’s in service. The second largest operator is American Eagle, with 206 ERJ 145 aircraft. Chautauqua Airlines also operates 95 ERJ 145’s 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.

In March 2007 ExpressJet entered into a short-term agreement to operate some regional routes for JetBlue Airways using its ERJ 145 aircraft.

The ERJ 140 was introduced in September 1999, first flew on June 27, 2000 and entered commercial service in July 2001. American Eagle Airlines, the regional jet subsidiary of American Airlines, operates the majority of the ERJ 140’s built, including the first to be delivered (N800AE). Chautauqua Airlines also operate the ERJ 140.

As of early 2005, 74 ERJ 140’s had been delivered.

This version is marketed as ERJ 140, but on the company’s internal documents and on Federal Aviation Administration certification, the version is designated EMB 135KL.

Variants 2

Civilian Models

The physical engines are the same (Rolls Royce Allison AE3007), however, the FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine/Electronic Control) logic is what differs between the various models in regards to total thrust capability.

The extended range version, the ERJ 145ER, has Rolls Royce AE 3007A engines rated at 31.3 kN (7036 lb) thrust, with the option of more powerful AE 3007A1 engines. A, A1, A1P models are mechanically identical but differ in thrust due to variations in FADEC software. The A1E engine, however, has not only new software, but significantly upgraded mechanical components.

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 33.1 kN (7440 lb) thrust 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. ExpressJet is the sole operator of the ERJ 145XR. February 2011 Embraer presented its new EMB-145 AEW&C for India.

Despite the multiple variants, pilots need only one type rating to fly any variant of the ERJ aircraft. Companies like American Eagle and ExpressJet Airlines utilize this benefit with their mixed fleet of ERJ 135ER/LR and ERJ 145EP/LR/XR. Shared type ratings allows operators to utilize a single pilot pool for any ERJ aircraft.

Military Models

Operators 2

Civilian Operators

In May 2011 a total of 990 ERJ 135/140/145 remain in service, with 5 further firm orders. Current major civilian operators include:

Military Operators

Notable Accidents 2

The ERJ 145 family of aircraft has no reported crashes or fatalities due to mechanical malfunction in over 15 million hours (as of June 2009) of flight time for the fleet.

Specifications (ERJ 135 ER) 2

Specifications (ERJ 135 LR) 2

Specifications (ERJ 140 ER) 2

Specifications (ERJ 140 LR) 2

Specifications (ERJ 145 LR) 2

Specifications (ERJ 145 XR) 2

References

  1. Photos, John Shupek, Copyright © 2011 Skytamer Images. All Rights Reserved
  2. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Embraer ERJ 145 Family

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