Embraer and the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) held a ceremony today to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the Bandeirante, a twin-engine aircraft that represents a milestone in the history of the national aeronautical industry and which led to the creation of Embraer in 1969 for production in series and marketing of the product.
The event recreated the official ceremony of October 26, 1968, when hundreds of guests witnessed the flight of the aircraft that departed from the runway — unpaved at the time — in São José dos Campos, in the interior of São Paulo. The celebration was attended by the Minister of Defense, Joaquim Silva e Luna, the Commander of the Air Force, Lieutenant-Brigadier Nivaldo Luiz Rossato, the first superintendent director of Embraer, engineer Ozires Silva, and the current directors and employees of the Company.
“The Bandeirante represented much more than an aircraft, but a new cycle of transformation for the Brazilian industry. He represents a Brazil that is tough, capable of uniting competence, talent and innovation”, said Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva, CEO and President of Embraer.
“This commemorative date offers us an opportunity to thank and celebrate the pioneers of Embraer and the Brazilian aeronautical industry, our own pioneers, who pioneered the frontiers of aeronautical technology. Embraer is today a company that competes on equal technological with the largest in the world because 50 years ago a group of engineers, designers and pilots dared to bring to life an aircraft that has become a legend.”
The Smoke Squadron @fumaca_ja the legendary #embraer # Bandeirante from @portalfab in an epic flyover. 🇧🇷 #Bandeirante50 #EMB100 #Embraer Stories pic.twitter.com/KaiPJz68yC
- Embraer (@embraer) October 26th, 2018
“The 50 years of Bandeirante should be celebrated from different points of view. Initially as a continuation of the genius and inventiveness of Brazilians in the field of aviation. Furthermore, the first Bandeirante flight also represents the beginning of Brazil's insertion in a prominent context in the world aeronautics industry, through the creation of Embraer and the establishment of successive successful partnerships in several projects, which after 50 years projected the company to a level of recognition and undeniable excellence worldwide”, said Air Force Commander Lieutenant Brigadier Nivaldo Luiz Rossato.
The first Bandeirante prototype, then called IPD-6504, performed its inaugural test flight on October 22, 1968, with the presence of the project's technical team. THE
The plane, painted in FAB colors, left the X10 hangar at the Centro Técnico Aeroespacial (CTA) to take off at 7:07 am and returned for landing 50 minutes later under the command of Major José Mariotto Ferreira and Flight Engineer Michel Cury . But it was only four days later that the plane was officially presented to authorities and journalists, and the flight took place again.
Worthy of its name, the Bandeirante aircraft led the development of global regional aviation and boosted the Brazilian aeronautical industry, with the beginning of a success story that allowed the transformation of science and technology into engineering and industrial capacity, now recognized in all continents where planes manufactured by Embraer fly.
For the construction of the first prototype, three years and four months elapsed, between the first preliminary studies and the maiden flight. For this, 110 hours of design were spent, with 12.000 manufacturing drawings, 22.000 hours of structural and aerodynamic calculations and 282.000 hours of manufacturing the plane and its tooling.
Over more than two decades, Embraer has produced and delivered 498 Bandeirante aircraft in various civil and military configurations.
Currently, approximately 150 aircraft are in operation with airlines, air taxis, government entities and Air Forces in the Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
See the full event in the video below:
