Aircraft
Embraer E190-E2 Takes Flight Ahead of Schedule
Milestone happens at least five weeks early
Four Embraer E190-E2 prototypes have clocked more than 2,000 flight hours. (Photo: Embraer)
Four Embraer E190-E2 prototypes have clocked more than 2,000 flight hours. (Photo: Embraer)

The Embraer E190-E2 flew for the first time Monday from the company’s facilities in São Jose dos Campos, Brazil, well ahead of schedule. The jet took to the air at 1:06 p.m. local time as clouds broke over the site despite forecasts for poor weather conditions. During the three-hour, 20-minute mission, Embraer captain Mozart Louzada and first officer Gerson de Oliveira retracted the landing gear, flew the airplane to its maximum altitude of 41,000 feet and its top cruise speed of Mach 0.82 and engaged its new fly-by-wire system in normal mode. The flight path took the E2 some 150 miles from São Jose dos Campos east toward Rio de Janeiro, explained director of flight operations and flight test engineer Alexandre Figueiredo. The flight came at least five weeks earlier than the second-half 2016 time frame Embraer had last reported.