Embraer KC-390

[SuperManufacturer]

Qualcuno ha informazioni riguardo a questo velivolo?
Ha delle caratteristiche buone oppure è destinato a rimanere invenduto?

[hawk-eyed]

Io scommetto che sara' una macchina di qualita', innanzittutto !...

poi, potra' aver successo come no....

sicuramente le forze aeree brasiliane avranno un una marcia in più....

forza EMBRAER !!

[MatteF88]

Piuttosto difficile giudicare le sue caratteristiche...non ha ancora volato! (lo farà, forse nel 2014)
Dovrebbe avere una capacità di carico comparabile a quella del C-130J

The KC-390 is due to fly in 2014, with deliveries to the Brazilian Air Force planned for 2016. The Brazilian plane is seen as a competitor to the Lockheed Martin C-130J.

Thales estimates prospective sales of 250 KC-390s, including possible exports to Argentina, Czech Republic, Chile, Colombia and Portugal. France has previously said it would buy the KC-390 in exchange for expected Brazilian orders of the Rafale fighter jet.

Fonte: http://www.defensenews.com/article/2012 ... CFRONTPAGE



Fonte dell'immagine: http://www.aviationnews.eu/2011/04/13/e ... 0-program/


Articolo di un annetto fa: http://www.aviationweek.com/Blogs.aspx? ... d=blogDest

Embraer has frozen the configuration of its KC-390 tanker/transport and plans to begin the joint definition phase in May, after the Brazilian air force - which is paying for development - has made the final decisions on the major suppliers.

Myself, Steve Trimble of Flightglobal and John Reed of military.com got a chance on Feb. 22 to look over the full-scale cabin mockup in Hangar X-30 at the air force's CTA (Comando-Geral de Technologia Aerospacial), adjacent to Embraer's plant in Sao Jose do Campos.

The KC-390 is a big aircraft; the biggest Embaer has designed and bigger than the aircraft it is being developed to compete against - Lockheed Martin's C-130J. The cargo compartment is 17.75m long, compared with 16.9m for the stretched C-130J-30; 3.45m wide (vs 3.12m); 2.9m high forward of the wing (vs 2.74m) and 3.2m aft of the wing to make it easier to load/unload vehicles via the ramp.



One unusual feature of the mockup which we could not understand and for which I don't yet have a full explanation - a movable pressure bulkhead that retracts garage door-style into the roof and descends to seal the cargo cabin. When down, this sloping bulkhead reduces compartment length to 12.78m at the ceiling. We couldn't think of another airlifter with this feature.

The KC-390's design has changed significantly since 2007, when Embraer first revealed its studies of a military airlifter, then called the C-390, based heavily on its Embraer 190 regional airliner. At that point, using the wings, tail, engines and avionics of the E-190, the aircraft had a design payload of 19 tonnes.



Today, the KC-390 is an all-new aircraft with a design maximum payload of 23t, comfortably exceeding the C-130J's 21.8t. Range is 2,600nm with a 14.7t payload, 2,000nm with the 19t required by the Brazilian air force, and 1,400nm with the full 23t. Maximum cruise is Mach 0.8 and altitude 36,000ft.

Recent changes to the design have included increasing wing span in response to customer requests that the KC-390 be able to refuel helicopters, as well as fighters. This requires the ability to refuel at speeds down to 120kt and altitudes below 10,000ft. Wing span is now 35.06m.

As a tanker, the KC-390 has two underwing hose-and-drogue pods and a refueling probe (or receptacle). Some potential customers want to equip the aircraft with a refueling boom. Embraer is looking at a removable boom that could be mounted on the ramp, but hasn't settled on a workable design yet.



The KC-390 is scheduled to fly in mid-2014 and enter service with the Brazilian air force in 2016, and Embraer says the program is on track. It's hard not to walk around the mockup and think about the challenge Embraer has taken on developing an aircraft of this size and capability - but the company says it's aware where the risks are and has taken steps to invest early in reducing them.

Ps: piccolo giudizio estetico puramente personale: il parabrezza mi sembra cosí grosso da far sembrare piccolo l'aereo, che in realtà non lo è affatto essendo appunto paragonabile ad un hercules

[SuperManufacturer]

Piuttosto difficile giudicare le sue caratteristiche...non ha ancora volato! (lo farà, forse nel 2014)

Sì confermo, le prime consegne per il first flight sono nel 2014, anche se alcuni degli appalti non sono ancora stati assegnati da Embraer che si deve muovere per mantenere il target !
Comunque a sentir loro sono molto determinati a raggiungere tutti gli obiettivi e le milestone in tempo

[87Nemesis87]

This requires the ability to refuel at speeds down to 120kt and altitudes below 10,000ft.

WOW!!!

...devo dire che come linea gli embraer sia civili che militari mi piacciono davvero tanto! ^___^

[richelieu]

Un (più) recente articolo da "AW&ST" .....

Embraer Emphasizes Collaboration On KC-390

By Michael Mecham

Source: Aviation Week & Space Technology



Michael Mecham/Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil (April 23 , 2012)


The Brazilian air force's requirement that KC-390 tanker/transports serve civil and military markets is underscoring prime contractor Embraer's approach to the airplane's product strategy.

Embraer is emphasizing the use of proven systems and components, many adapted from its own commercial programs, in keeping with the service's goal that the tanker will have broad appeal as a lower-cost competitor to the Lockheed Martin C-130J. It is slightly larger than the venerable U.S. transport, with a top payload capacity of 23 tons over a 1,400-nm range, and will feature such cockpit features as dual head-up displays and sidestick controllers.

The Brazilian air force (FAB) has ordered 28 of the twin-engine transports and identified a requirement for 10 more in the long term. In addition, Embraer has gathered declarations of intent-to-order for an additional 32: two for the Czech Republic and six for Portugal—both NATO members—plus six for Argentina, six for Chile and 12 for Colombia.

First flight is set for 2014. In keeping with the 2009 contract it signed with the FAB, Embraer will seek civilian certification from the FAA first, in 2015, and then move on to military certification a year later. The same approach was followed for the Tucano/Super Tucano advanced trainer/light attack aircraft, notes Paulo Gastao Silva, Embraer vice president and KC-390 program manager. Military certification is more easily accomplished after an aircraft has passed through the hands of civil regulators.

With a wingspan of 115 ft., length of 111 ft. and maximum takeoff weight of 178,574 lb., the KC-390 is Embraer's most ambitious military aircraft project.

“This is Brazil's biggest military program and biggest aircraft program ever,” says Silva, whose KC-390 project office became a separate business unit within Embraer in January 2010 because of the tanker's importance. The KC-390 will permit the FAB to expand its transport fleet and replace its 22 C-130Hs, two of which are operated as KC-130s.

Embraer is aiming the KC-390 at the medium-lift military transport market, for which the company sees a requirement for 728 replacements over the next 10 years, according to a 2011 company study. Many of those are C-130s.

“We decided to limit the initial forecast to 10 years and to reassess it after getting the first market feedback once we start promoting and selling the airplane,” says Silva.

The manufacturer's market studies show that stretching the fuselage to provide room for a side cargo door could add another 200-250 potential sales.

The program has emerged from its initial definition phase, and agreements have been reached on supplier interfaces, says Silva. The company expects to freeze the definition by year-end.

“It's the first time Embraer called in suppliers to help with the [aircraft's] conception,” says Kenzo Takatori of Akaer Engineering in Sao Jose dos Campos. Akaer has provided engineering for numerous Embraer programs during the past 20 years. Once the definition is complete, Takatori expects Akaer's designers to work from Embraer's campus here on its fuselage, wing and landing-gear-door engineering.

The majority of Embraer's contractor support is coming from outside Brazil, but not all of it. For example, the airplane's mission computer will be produced by the Aeroelectronica-Embraer joint venture AEL Sistemas that it formed with Elbit for the Super Tucano.

Still, Embraer is reducing its program risk as much as possible by assembling a supply team with wide experience and proven equipment, particularly from civil programs. Prominent in this strategy is its choice of powerplants, the V2500-E5 from International Aero Engines.

In the cockpit, Embraer selected Rockwell Collins's Pro Line Fusion flight deck and mission systems avionics, which it already is employing on the Legacy 450/500. The installation includes twin head-up displays from Elbit.

Rockwell Collins Vice President Thierry Tosi says Brazil is one of his company's key priorities among emerging markets. Rockwell Collins do Brazil, which has been established near Embraer, is adding engineers to support its commercial and military programs, particularly the KC-390. The company plans to use third parties in Brazil to build the transport's displays and control panels.

Goodrich will design and build the primary flight-control system in the U.S., and BAE Systems will supply the flight-control electronics and active sidestick controllers. BAE will work from its Rochester, England, facility.

Embraer will integrate the mission systems and avionics and develop mission software, drawing on experience it gained on similar work for the FAB's F-5 fighter modernization program and a revamp of A-4s for the Brazilian navy.

Hamilton Sundstrand is providing the auxiliary power unit and electric power-generating system from the U.S.

Risk-sharing partners with specialized skills and track records with Embraer have been chosen to broaden the KC-390's overseas customer base:

•Portugal Engineering Manufacturing (OGMA) will build composite landing-gear sponsons, doors and elevators. The company, in which Embraer holds a 65% stake, also will make composite parts, while Embraer will produce aluminum parts.

•Aero Vodochody of the Czech Republic, which produces door assemblies for the Embraer 170/190, will design and build the KC-390's fixed leading edge and provide other packages, including the cargo ramp, crew doors, emergency doors and hatches. All are metallic. Embraer will make the Segment 2 aft fuselage behind the ramp that joins with the empennage. It will also build center fuselage sections fore and aft of the wing, and the rear door to the center fuselage.

•Argentina's FAdeA (Fabrica Argentina de Aviones) is to manufacture the tail cone, cargo ramp door, spoilers and nose-wheel landing-gear door from composites at its Cordoba factory. The government-owned FAdeA was formerly managed by Lockheed Martin when it was building the Pampa jet trainer, but has more recently returned to being a government-managed enterprise as it emphasizes maintenance and overhaul services.

“So this puts FAdeA back into the aerostructures business,” Silva says. “I think it will be a good partnership.”

The tail cone is metallic and composite; the cargo doors are all metallic. FAdeA also will produce a flap fairing, the electronics rack and composite nose-wheel landing-gear doors.

Three nonrisk-sharing partners have been named. Brazil's Aceturri will provide the wing-to-fuselage fairing. LMI Aerospace, headquartered in St. Charles, Mo., will provide metallic SLAT. Spain's Aernnova, a longtime Embraer supplier that has a plant in Sao Jose, will produce composite flaps, ailerons and the rudder. Aceturri and LMI are new suppliers. All of their operations will be collocated in the KC-390 factory in Sao Jose.

Additionally, ELEB, a wholly owned Embraer subsidiary, will design and produce the landing gear, and DRS Defense Solutions of Rockville, Md., will build the cargo handling and delivery system. Numerous other specialty contractors are involved with the -390, including Cobham for refueling receiver probes and Safran's Hispano-Suiza for electric power distribution.

The KC-390 represents a further evolution in Embraer's relationship both with risk-sharing partners and suppliers. With the ERJ 145 program, the company had six partners and hundreds of suppliers, Silva recalls. By the time it reached the E-Jet series, its involvement with risk-sharing was more intense— there are 15 partners— but its supplier count had been winnowed to 20.

[richelieu]

Una serie di articoli (da "Flightglobal.com") aggiorna la situazione del progetto .....

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... on-373424/

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... nt-373439/

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... me-373929/

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... se-373952/

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... 90-376287/


..... e, da "Defense Industry Daily", la consueta ponderosa disamina .....

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Emb ... ram-05380/

[richelieu]

Configurazione e prezzo in via di definizione .....

Embraer Nailing Down KC-390 Configuration, Price .....

By Graham Warwick
Source: Aerospace Daily & Defense Report (AW&ST) - February 01, 2013

Embraer plans to begin efforts to sell its KC-390 internationally after completion of the critical design review (CDR) now under way with its launch customer, the Brazilian air force, which is funding development of the twin-turbofan tanker/transport.

The CDR is to be completed by this quarter. “[By June] we will be ready to go to market with terms and conditions and a final configuration,” says Luiz Carlos Aguilar, CEO of Embraer Defense & Security.

Embraer forecasts a market for 700 aircraft over 10 years, worth more than $50 billion. “That is very conservative,” he says, noting there are more than 2,000 older airlifters, mainly Lockheed Martin C-130s and Russian Antonovs, that will need replacing within 10 years.

The forecast does not include “mature countries” such as the U.S. and U.K., Aguilar says, although he is “more optimistic” about selling into these markets following the April 2012 signing of a memorandum of understanding with Boeing to collaborate on the program.

“We will partner with them in some specific countries,” he says. “We are still discussing that, and will announce a commercial agreement in a few months.” Meanwhile, a “sharing process” is under way with Boeing engineers visiting Embraer, and vice versa.

Aguilar says the program is on schedule. First flight is planned for 2014 and service entry for 2016. In addition to the two prototypes, the Brazilian air force is to order 28 aircraft, while Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Czech Republic and Portugal have signed letters of intent to acquire the aircraft.

Embraer’s defense division, meanwhile, delivered the first three of six A-29 Super Tucano light-attack/trainer aircraft for Angola on Jan. 31. Angola is the third African customer for the Super Tucano, and a fourth has been signed but not announced.

Aguilar also says the Brazilian manufacturer is in talks with Saab on an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft based on the Embraer 190 large regional jet. The Swedish company supplies the Erieye radar used on Embraer’s EMB-145 AEW&C.

The Embraer 190 AEW&C would use a new radar developed by Saab and mounted above the fuselage in the same way that the Erieye’s phased-array antenna is carried above the fuselage of the EMB-145, Aguilar says.

Link ..... http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.asp ... 543682.xml

L'azienda brasiliana non nasconde dunque le proprie ambizioni ..... d'altronde il mercato, in prospettiva, sembra essere alquanto vasto, visto che, almeno per ora, non si profila all'orizzonte nessun credibile successore al C-130.

Fra i paesi interessati all'acquisto dell'aereo vi sono anche Francia e Svezia ..... ma si tratta di mosse meramente strumentali dettate dal desiderio di piazzare in Brasile i loro caccia nell'ambito dell'interminabile competizione F-X2 .....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embraer_KC-390



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[cabronte]

Bello, mi piace molto, spero che abbia successo!

[richelieu]

Aggiornamenti su come sta procedendo il programma .....

"IAE ships first KC-390 engines to Embraer" ..... http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... er-399541/

"Embraer gets firm order for 28 KC-390s from Brazil" ..... http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... il-399603/



..... la prima seria iniziativa per realizzare un velivolo in grado di aspirare alla successione all'eterno C-130 .....

[JT8D]

Come riportato nell'articolo linkato sui sopra, il KC-390 avrà propulsori IAE V2500-E5. Riporto l'articolo in italiano dal Portale:

http://www.md80.it/2014/05/22/pratt-whi ... a-embraer/

Paolo

[richelieu]

L'assemblaggio del prototipo procede .....

KC-390 Tanker/Transport Taking Shape at Embraer .....

(Aviation Week & Space Technology Sept. 22, 2014 - p. 16)

Embraer has mated the wing and fuselage of the first prototype KC-390 tanker/transport.
First flight is planned by year-end.
Powered by two International Aero Engines V2500-E5 turbofans, the KC-390 is scheduled to enter service in 2016 with the Brazilian air force, which is funding development and placed a $3 billion order for 28 aircraft in May.
Final assembly is underway at Embraer’s Gaviao Peixoto plant in south-central Brazil.
Suppliers of aerostructures include Aero Vodochody of the Czech Republic (rear fuselage and cargo ramp), Ogma of Portugal (fuselage panels and fairings), Fabrica Argentina de Aviones (ramp door and tail cone), Aernnova of Spain (composite flaps, ailerons and rudder) and U.S. company LMI (leading-edge SLAT).

.

[richelieu]

Una foto che non dice molto .....

The latest picture, released on 23 September, is framed in such a way that it obscures any view of the aft fuselage, so it is not clear whether the aircraft's vertical and horizontal stabilisers have been integrated.

Fonte ..... "PICTURE: First KC-390 gets wings on assembly line" .....
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... ne-404093/
.

[richelieu]

Un aggiornamento da 'Jane's' .....

"KC-390 enters production phase of development" .....
http://www.janes.com/article/44440/kc-3 ... evelopment

[JT8D]

Embraer ha effettuato il roll out del KC-390:

http://www.md80.it/2014/10/21/embraer-f ... re-kc-390/

Paolo

[richelieu]

Le immagini .....

"KC-390 Roll-Out! (Fotos)" ..... http://www.defesanet.com.br/kc390/notic ... --(Fotos)/



.

[DenisJP]

Sembra finto

Inviato dal mio GT-I8150

[richelieu]

Sembra finto

Potresti recarti, in veste di novello San Tommaso, a Gavião Peixoto onde accertarti, toccandolo con mano, se sia vero o meno .....

[DenisJP]

Ma lo so che è vero, però dall'ultima foto, a primo impatto, mi è sembrato un modellino in plastica. Esteticamente parlando l'aereo mi piace

Inviato dal mio GT-I8150

[richelieu]

Intanto ..... Embraer, dopo il roll-out del prototipo, cui hanno presenziato esponenti di 30 forze aeree, è già al lavoro per preparare l'imminente volo inaugurale .....

Embraer is preparing for a first flight of the KC-390 military transport before year’s end, following the rollout of the first prototype.
The aircraft, registered PT-ZNR, was presented to factory workers and Brazilian and foreign air force officials during a ceremony at Embraer’s Gaviao Peixoto site near Sao Paulo on Oct. 21.

Fonte ..... "Embraer Preparing KC-390 First Flight By Year’s End" .....
http://aviationweek.com/defense/embraer ... year-s-end

Inoltre ..... 'Jane's' .....

"Embraer rolls out first KC-390 prototype" ..... http://www.janes.com/article/44854/embr ... -prototype
.

[richelieu]

'FlightGlobal.com' descrive il roll-out del KC-390 e analizza le sue prospettive future .....

"ANALYSIS: How Embraer attracted a global audience to the KC-390 roll-out" .....
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... 90-405083/

[richelieu]

Primo volo a Gennaio .....

"Embraer KC-390 will fly in January" .....
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... ry-407328/

[richelieu]

Primo volo .....

The KC-390, Embraer’s clean-sheet aerial refueling tanker, flew for the first time on 3 February from an airfield in São José dos Campos, Brazil.
The KC-390’s 1h 25min flight consisted of manoeuvres to assess flight characteristics and system tests, including the aircraft’s fly-by-wire controls, Embraer says.

Fonte ..... "Embraer KC-390 takes maiden flight" .....
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... ht-408635/

"​Embraer realiza com sucesso o primeiro voo do transporte militar KC-390" .....
http://www.embraer.com/pt-BR/ImprensaEv ... KC390.aspx

Il primo video .....

Cutaway ..... http://www.flightglobal.com/assets/geta ... emid=56365
.

[JT8D]

Articolo dal Portale sul primo volo dell'Embraer KC-390:

http://www.md80.it/2015/02/03/il-velivo ... rimo-volo/

Paolo

[richelieu]

AW&ST ..... "Embraer KC-390 Makes First Flight" .....
http://aviationweek.com/defense/embraer ... rst-flight

AINonline ..... "First Flight for Embraer KC-390 Airlifter " .....
http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ ... -airlifter


Un paio di video ..... più 'sostanziosi' di quello già postato .....

"Primeiro voo do KC-390" .....

"KC 390 First Flight - Primeiro voo" .....
.

[richelieu]

Il commento di 'Jane's ..... con annessa tabella comparativa .....



"Update: KC-390 airlifter makes maiden flight" .....
http://www.janes.com/article/48682/upda ... den-flight

..... e quello del 'Daily Report' dell' AFA ..... con un pizzico di 'veleno nella coda' ..... ovvero ..... l'immancabile sviolinata a Lockheed Martin .....

Meet Brazil's New Military Airlifter .....

(2/6/2015)

Brazilian manufacturer Embraer test-flew the new KC-390 tactical tanker/airlifter for the first time on a hop from its production facility at São José dos Campos, Brazil, Feb. 3, the company announced .....

http://www.embraer.com/en-US/ImprensaEv ... KC390.aspx

"The KC-390 behaved in a docile and predictable manner," said test pilot Brazilian air force Capt. Mozart Louzada.
Brazil's air force has ordered 28 of the twin-turbofan, high-wing, fly-by-wire multirole tanker-airlifters, which form "the backbone of transport aviation" for the service, said Brazilian air force commander Lt. Brig. Gen. Nivaldo Luiz Rossato.
NATO allies, the Czech Republic and Portugal, along with Argentina made hand-shake deals to purchase a total of 32 additional aircraft, according to the company.
The aircraft is designed to lift a 56,000-pound payload up to 1,380 nautical miles, at a cruising speed of 540 miles per hour, giving it a slightly higher speed and payload, but shorter range than the Lockheed Martin C-130J, according to manufacturer factsheets.

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[richelieu]

Un' analisi .....

ANALYSIS: KC-390 lifts expectations in Brazil .....

By: Felipe Salles (Rio de Janeiro)
Source: Flightglobal.com

Embraer has a long tradition of identifying – and succeeding in – unattended market niches.
Over the years, they have done this with regional turboprops and jets, turboprop trainers and counter-insurgency aircraft, airborne early warning aircraft, light business jets and now the mid-range military transport segment, where the Lockheed C-130 Hercules has reigned supreme for more than 60 years.

The Brazilian transport programme started off in 2007 as the C-390, a simpler, low-tailed Embraer E-190 derivative with a new transport fuselage.
Significantly transformed, the enlarged KC390 was relaunched from scratch and has now cleared two key milestones in a row: the first prototype roll-out ceremony last December, and first flight in February.
The next stage to be crossed will be the full start of the flight-testing programme.

“The KC-390 programme has been developing on schedule, and the delay to first flight from the end of December to 3 February was only due to minor issues such as the two to three days needed to switch a faulty component in the prototype,” explains Col Sérgio Henrique da Silva Carneiro, KC-390 programme manager in the Brazilian air force’s combat aircraft co-ordinating committee (COPAC).

“There was no rush to get to the first flight, which was more than just a take-off and landing to prove the plane can fly. It was much more complex than that: a 1h 19min test flight in full telemetry gear.”

After that first – and only, as this article went to press – flight the prototype was returned to the manufacturing hall to receive some pending components and systems needed for the start of the complete flight certification schedule.

“That flight was done with a reduced flight envelope, but it was enough to allow us to say that the aircraft’s behaviour so far is either as planned or better,” says Embraer’s vice-president and KC-390 programme director, Paulo Gastão Silva.

“Low-speed flight stability, for instance, turned out better than we had aimed to achieve. The close matching of the observed flight characteristics to what we planned in our digital model is a very good sign that we may run into fewer surprises down the road.”

The second KC-390 prototype is scheduled to fly by mid-2015 – soon after the first returns to flight.
They are followed in the production line by two complete airframes to be used for ground-based testing.
Another two partial airframe structures will also be used, to speed up the certification process.

Immediately after these four test airframes, the first production examples for the Brazilian air force will start rolling off the expanded Gavião Peixoto manufacturing plant.
Manufacture of the first production-standard aircraft is under way, with their long-lead items already contracted to Embraer suppliers.

Giant-sized genesis .....

“The Brazilian air force (FAB) and Embraer always had a clear notion of the size of the challenges that come … with large technological leaps forward,” says Carneiro.
“But we also know there tends to be greater learning for industry in defence programs than in civilian ones.”

“The KC-390 programme represents a step up in capability for both Embraer and its suppliers. Leaps like these are the result of well-managed defence programmes, bringing greatly positive results for the Brazilian aeronautical industry. Military requirements are continuously evolving, since this is the ‘cutting edge’.”

When the original C-390 concept was conceived, the designers knew it already brought with it a number of new challenges for Embraer.
The effort and risk of creating a totally new fuselage with an integrated rear cargo ramp and other new items was then offset by the use as much as possible of tried and tested engines, systems and equipment inherited from the very successful civilian E-Jet family.

A new extended wingtip would be needed, as well as a new wing stub structure connected to the centre fuselage structure, which transformed the original shorter E-Jet wing, moving it from its original low-wing dihedral into a totally new high-wing anhedral installation.
This was Embraer’s first high-wing design.

The designers felt the C-390 was both viable and technically feasible as a military transport, but it was clear it would be an aircraft of a lesser category in terms of loads and weights, in line with the French-German C-160 Transall rather than the market’s yardstick, the C-130J Hercules.

At this stage, Embraer was able to obtain assistance from the Brazilian air force, “an experienced service who deeply understood the military transport mission and is competent in writing detailed military requirement lists needed to properly evaluate the new concept”, says Gastão Silva.

The Brazilian air force already had a formal process for that purpose, so in an exploratory manner it contributed by writing an operational requirement, followed by a technical requirement, for the C-390 concept.
This helped Embraer understand that its original concept answered the needs of only a part of the existing C-130 global client market.
But the largest slice of that pie would be beyond its means to capture.

The logistical and industrial technical requirements were written by an air force working group.
With a total of some 1,500 lines, the resulting requirement book revealed beyond doubt that the C-390 concept did not meet the service’s minimal performance needs. Intended as the base for the development contract of the new aircraft, the requirements document instead became its death knell.

Surprisingly, Embraer management opted for the longer road, starting again from scratch and creating a complete new aircraft.
According to Gastão Silva, in the end Embraer’s development effort with the new KC-390 would amount to 130% that of the whole E-Jet family.

The C-390 concept’s size was inadequate.
To be a commercial success in the military market it would have to be of equal or larger size than the Hercules.
Embraer studies showed that while the company’s civilian E-190 had a wing area of 92m2 (990ft2) and the C-390 concept would have had a wing area of 108m2, the newly designed KC-390 ended up with a much larger wing area of no less than 140m2.

Off-the-shelf .....

The selection of a civilian-proven engine helped to reduce the flight-testing workload, but the International Aero Engines V2500-E5 variant used on the KC-390 has been adapted to better suit it to its unique military mission.

The same applies to the Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion cockpit displays.
While BAE Systems was hired to supply the primary flight commands, all the aircraft’s fly-by-wire control laws were written in-house by Embraer.

“The KC-390 brought with it a number of good surprises for us,” Carneiro says.
“We made flying this plane a very automated process, beyond the automatic pilot computers, protecting the plane from pilot inputs that might push it outside its flight envelope.”

Regarding export opportunities, Gastão Silva says that “creating a 100% ITAR [International Traffic in Arms Regulations]-free product would have been an pointless goal, because even Brazilian-developed and -sourced items have export control rules that apply to them. Every government whose companies produce military solutions and products – not just the USA – tends to reserve the right to control where that technology is going to end up.”

He adds: “Even some civilian-used products embed ITAR components such as the FADEC digital engine controls of the IAE V2500 engines” developed to power civilian airliners, but eventually used in the KC-390.

Another risk mitigation initiative involved the substantial use of simulation and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) studies, as well as ground rig-based testing.
A total of eight windtunnel testing campaigns were undertaken, two of which were for the original C-390 concept.
These campaigns were used to evaluate several trade-off issues such as the wing-tip options.

Gastão Silva explains that “depending on the client air force’s average operational flight profiles, it might be an advantage to fit a winglet or another shaped wing-tip extension to its particular KC-390s. The wing structure, for instance, is designed and built to allow for simple alterations like that to be performed in the future.”

Another area where the early windtunnel tests proved helpful was in the determination of the optimal engine pylon configuration.
Gastão Silva mentions that the prototypes have silver-coloured engine pylons because of their hot running engine bleed air-driven internal components.
At this temperature, any paint would be burnt away.
To address FAB’s request for camouflaged pylons on its KC-390s, Embraer is currently searching the market for an adequate heat-resisting paint.

During its development process, the empty weight of the KC-390 has naturally grown, but so too has the engine power and aerodynamic efficiency of the design performance, so all the key performance items have been met by the aircraft flown by Embraer.

“FAB never specified an minimum empty weight parameter to Embraer in this programme,” COPAC president José Augusto Crepaldi says.
“The KC-390 today has become capable of lifting 26t if this weight is concentrated in a limited area near the centre of gravity of the aircraft.”

International strategy .....

The KC-390 is a fully-fledged international partnership, with Argentinian, Portuguese and Czech flags showing up on the cockpit sides of the prototype at the roll-out ceremony.
Besides these countries Embraer also reached out to Turkey, Chile, Colombia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates as potential industrial partners.

Foreign involvement began at a ministry of defence level before progressing to air force commands and then reaching the aerospace industry.
Chile and Colombia are still committed to the KC-390 program for 12 and six aircraft respectively.
Chile was expected to join the KC-390 programme through manufacturer Enaer, but due to a change in government and the costs of the 2010 earthquake it eventually missed the industrial opportunity window.

NATO countries Portugal and the Czech Republic are seen as key in leveraging sales of the KC-390 to European air forces.
These country’s industries also benefit from regional development programmes through low interest rates aimed at aerospace opportunities and industrial development.
This financing will mostly be used for pre-manufacturing and series manufacturing non-recurring work.
The contract signed by the industrial partners with Embraer covers both prototypes and series production work.
“It is a win-win game” says Carneiro.

The KC-390 is expected to be composed of some 50% of Brazilian components by cost.
“An aircraft is substantially different from oil rigs or even submarines” says Carneiro, referring to other large industrial transfer-of-technology programmes being developed in Brazil today.

Managing risk and cost .....

“Why does a beetle fly?” asks Gastão Silva.
“Because he never went to aerodynamics class! We took the leap of faith of designing a type of aircraft we had never designed before because we didn’t know then how complicated it would be to design a brand-new, world-class, jet-powered tactical transport like the KC-390. We faced an enormous challenge in this programme – in reality it was not one but several specific challenges that had to be overcome.”

Embraer aircraft development programmes use a technology readiness index to determine the degree of risk represented by each possible type of innovation to be adopted in the new model.
By sticking to the most mature technologies, the company cuts the overall programme risk.

A risk management plan was developed identifying the greatest risks, so during planning the search for their solution was intensified.
One of these risk-reducing measures was the hiring during the initial phases of foreign consultants to assist on some of the more complicated parts of the new aircraft, such as the configuration of the rear cargo door and rear pressure bulkhead.
This item’s complexity is derived from multiple independent aspects such as fuselage pressurisation, resistance to operations from unprepared airstrips and the need to guarantee an unobstructed cargo “launch corridor” in the rear of the cargo compartment.

This aims to reduce the risk of air-launched cargo pallets rubbing against the sides or eventually getting stuck in the rear door, potentially causing a fatal accident.
The “unobstructed corridor” was the main reason for the adoption of the “T” tail configuration and for the raising and re-contouring of the rear fuselage.
Without it the height of air-launched pallets would be more limited, which would have an impact on the KC-390’s operational flexibility.

Another key area identified by the Brazilian company was the complex automated cargo handling system/aerial delivery system (CHS/ADS) needed to allow easy movement of containers/pallets into and out of the airplane.
The KC-390’s cargo compartment floor tiles can be easily flipped around, exposing or hiding rollers and tie-down rings of different strength levels to be used from light pallet loads all the way to heavy armoured vehicles.

The ADS element of the system specifically refers to the safe and fast in-flight launch of military cargo.
Civilian cargo transport operators are totally unfamiliar with this area, where restraints have to pop open at the right moment or where extractor parachute cords in an emergency might have to be sheared to preserve the safety of the crew on a mission.
A jammed cargo load well to the rear of the aircraft’s centre of gravity is a critical – if not deadly – situation.

Prototyping strategy .....

The decision to use only two prototypes, according to Gastão Silva, was mainly due to the limits of development funding from the air force.
“This number is fully compatible with the KC-390 program’s allotted development budget. A smaller number of prototypes demands from Embraer a much better flight-testing and certification campaign plan”.

Regarding the number of prototypes, Carneiro argues that “based on Embraer’s experience developing new aircraft, the use of risk-mapping strategies, the extensive use of simulations and the selection of mature technologies, we became confident that this would work well. Both prototypes are expected to be flown in tests for at least two to three years. When the first production aircraft are delivered, they will also be used to conclude the military type certification phase side by side with the prototypes”.

Carneiro also says a lot of work has been focused during development on ensuring the through-life cost of the KC-390 would be the lowest possible.
The KC-390 programme contract has transfer-of-technology clauses for eight “strategic” subsystems, including engines, flight controls, avionics, landing gear, self-defence systems, cargo handling systems and mission systems.
These transfer-of-technology offsets can vary from the local manufacture of a certain system or equipment all the way to a technical course COPAC and Brazilian industry believe will add value to the local industrial capabilities.

Manufacturing the giant .....

A new 30,000m2 final assembly hangar was built in Gavião Peixoto to accommodate the KC-390 line.
The L-shaped hangar hosts five assembly stations.
Built at another hangar, the fully assembled fuselage enters through a door at the bottom of the “L” shape, progressing upwards. In the horizontal part of the “L”, both half-wing assemblies are mated to each other before being installed over the fuselage.
Also here, the horizontal stabilisers are assembled on top of the vertical tail before the completed structure is bolted to the fuselage.
All components enter the final assembly hall fully painted.

Some of the KC-390’s major fuselage components come from the Embraer aerostructures plant located at Botucatu, 175km (109 miles) away from Gavião Peixoto.
Some subassemblies are built locally at Gavião Peixoto and others come from the company’s headquarters at São José dos Campos.
Other parts come from the new highly automated Embraer plant in Évora, and from OGMA, both located in Portugal.
OGMA is responsible for the complete central fuselage assembly delivered in the shape of “super panels”.
All foreign-built components are to arrive by ship, to be driven to Gavião Peixoto.

When the production reaches its full rate, around 1,060 jobs will have been either created or preserved at Embraer, while another 1,500 jobs were created in the engineering design group just for this programme.
The marketing effort has run continuously from before the programme’s launch at the LAAD 2007 show, but international sales activity only began at the beginning of 2014.
With the KC-390’s configuration frozen then, Embraer could finally make firm commitments regarding the plane’s performance, prices and delivery schedules.
There are several active sales campaigns underway around the world today.

The future .....

Unveiling part of the company’s marketing plans, Gastão Silva says the current configuration is just the first of a family of aircraft in an overall product roadmap.
“We foresee a market need for a stretched variant of the basic military transport for those clients whose cargoes have a greater density variation,” he says.

The current KC-390 cargo hold is already larger than the standard C-130’s, holding 7 pallets instead of 6, while its stretched variant will hold 9 pallets, one more than the C-130J-30.
Troop transport is one of those missions that is better suited to a stretched airframe.

.

[richelieu]

Viene annunciato un ritardo di due anni .....

Embraer has delayed the certification for the KC-390 tanker-transport to the second half of 2017 and entry into service in 2018.
The disclosure in the company’s second quarter earnings statement represents a delay of up to two years for the military aircraft.

Fonte ..... "Embraer announces two-year delay for KC-390" .....
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... 90-415195/

A pagina 8 del pdf ..... http://www.embraer.com/Documents/notici ... F-P-15.pdf

A Embraer continua a progredir no desenvolvimento do seu jato de transporte militar KC-390, que realizou seu voo inaugural no início de fevereiro deste ano.
A campanha de ensaios em voo deverá se iniciar no 3T15 e está prevista para durar em torno de 18 a 24 meses. A Embraer espera receber a certificação do jato KC-390
até o final de 2017, com as primeiras entregas da aeronave no primeiro semestre de 2018.

.

[richelieu]

Di nuovo in volo .....

Embraer has flown the KC-390 again for the first time in eight months as the company’s Defence and Security business adapts to a devalued Brazilian currency and a slower development schedule for the new tanker-transport.
The flight on 26 October at Embraer’s test centre in Gaviao Pexioto, Brazil, ends an eight-month hiatus caused by a fiscal crisis in Brasilia.
As the Real currency has devalued by 50% since the beginning of the year, the government had slowed payments to Embraer on a host of projects, but none bigger than the KC-390.

Fonte ..... "KC-390 resumes flight tests as defence unit rebaselines" .....
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... li-418271/
.

[richelieu]

A sorpresa .....

Embraer is set to shake up the competition to provide Canada with search-and-rescue aircraft as the Brazilian firm seeks export orders for its new KC-390.
The CAN $3.1 billion (US $2.3 billion) search-and-rescue aircraft procurement has long been seen as a competition between Airbus’ C-295 and Alenia’s C-27J.
But Embraer officials told Defense News the company will submit its bid in January when Canada requests formal proposals from aerospace firms.
Bids for the Fixed Wing Search and Rescue (FWSAR) program are to be submitted Jan. 11.

Fonte ..... "Embraer's KC-390 To Join Canada's Search-and-Rescue Bid" .....
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defens ... /77031896/

Embraer ..... " ​Embraer promotes KC-390 military transport for search and rescue missions at the Canadian Aerospace Summit 2015" ..... http://www.embraer.com/en-US/ImprensaEv ... -2015.aspx
.

[Lampo 13]

Una volta c'erano Ferrari, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Lamborghini, etc.
Erano prodotti pensati, "tentati", creati, modificati, aggiustati, collaudati, rifatti, etc.
Poi sono arrivati i computer e tutti fanno le stesse automobili, sono uguali, metti certe caratteristiche dentro
e il computer ti sputa fuori il progetto più ragionevole. Tutti uguali.
Quindi tutti hanno pensato: "Beh, in fondo è facile, no?"
E sono cominciati i guai...

Se facessi una festa brasiliana pagherei per avere le Oba Oba da Rio, se facessi una cena di pesce vorrei uno
Chef italiano, se volessi un ottimo vino mi rivolgerei ai francesi, un set di pentole ben fatte? Svedesi o tedesche...
Gli aeroplani lasciamoli fare agli americani, sanno fare quasi solo quello, ma lo fanno bene!

[Valerio Ricciardi]

Quasi sempre, diciamo

[richelieu]

Gli aeroplani lasciamoli fare agli americani, sanno fare quasi solo quello, ma lo fanno bene!

Quasi sempre, diciamo

Infatti .....
Però ..... anche a loro non sempre le ciambelle riescono col buco .....
Tipo questa .....



..... che, se volevano farla sollevare da terra, dovevano ricorrere ad una gru .....

[Valerio Ricciardi]

Miiiiiiiii che racchio

si torna al detto di Dassault... citato da Lampo

PS/ Comunque sull'F35 non sono d'accordo, ho visto aerei ben più brutti di quello... altri sono i suoi problemi

[giragyro]

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leduc_(av ... uc_022.JPG

dai anche i francesi non scherzano