30 years of the Brazilian regional airliner ERJ-145

August 11 marked the 30th anniversary of the ERJ-145 regional airliner, created by Brazilian company Embraer SA. On that day in 1995, its first prototype took flight.

The aircraft became the first jet among the manufacturer's civil aircraft. Despite their lack of experience, Brazilian specialists created a successful airliner that quickly passed testing. In December 1996, it received a type certificate from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which opened the way to the attractive North American market.

The ERJ-145XR series was equipped with two Rolls-Royce AE 3007-A1E turbofan engines with a thrust of over 4,000 kgf each. It could carry up to 50 passengers, was almost 30 m long, had a wingspan of 20 m, a maximum take-off weight of 24,100 kg, a maximum speed of 834 km/h, and a range of up to 3,700 km.

The ERJ-145 became the base model for a large family that included the shorter regional variants ERJ-140 and ERJ-135, the Legacy 600 and Legacy 650 business jets, and several military versions for special purposes, including the EMB-145SA (E-99A) long-range radar detection aircraft. In addition to Brazil, the ERJ-145 was manufactured under license in China at the Harbin Aircraft Industry facilities. Serial production ended in 2020, with a total of 1,240 units built.

The first operator of the ERJ-145 was ExpressJet Airlines from the United States, which received its first aircraft in December 1996. In general, American carriers used the most regional Embraers. In addition, aircraft of this family were acquired by civil and military operators in several dozen other countries, including Belgium, Brazil, Great Britain, India, China, Mexico, Mongolia, the Philippines, and France. In Ukraine, the ERJ-145 was part of the Dniproavia airline fleet.

Aircraft of this family have earned their place in the global market and will remain in service for a long time to come. They have undoubtedly been a significant success for Embraer, which has broken into the exclusive club of manufacturers of mainline airliners.