The EMBRAER 195 commercial airliner made its first flight, Tuesday, at Embraer’s São José dos Campos headquarters and successfully performed a range of flying quality and system validation tests. The airplane took off at 11:58 am (local time) and landed safely 1 hour and 56 minutes later.

The 108-seat EMBRAER 195 is the largest aircraft ever built by Embraer. Powered by two GE CF34-10E engines, this airplane can be configured for single class or dual class seating. With maximum payload of 29,829 pounds), Embraer claims that it provides the best balance between performance and economics.

The EMBRAER 195 will continue its flight tests at the Gavião Peixoto facility, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, where the certification campaign of the other members of the EMBRAER 170/190 family is also taking place.

“The first flight of the EMBRAER 195 went well. With all validation tests concluded successfully, we were truly impressed with the common flight characteristics of the EMBRAER 195 when compared to the other members of Embraer’s new jet family,” said Embraer Flight Test Pilot-in-Command Glen Peach. The test flight crew included Flight Test Pilot Ricardo Noce and Flight Test Engineer André Celere.

Certification of the EMBRAER 195 is expected in the second quarter of 2006. SWISS has 15 EMBRAER 195s on firm order and 10 options. General Electric Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) has taken options on 10 aircraft of the model.

The EMBRAER 195 is the fourth and largest of a four-member family of commercial jets specifically designed for the 70- to 110-seat market, providing passengers with unparalleled cabin comfort and baggage space, and providing carriers with excellent operating economics, performance, and reliability. As of September 30, 2004, the EMBRAER 170/190 family had logged 325 firm orders and 383 options.

FMI: www.embraer.com