Embraer celebrated the 40th anniversary of the first flight of the Ipanema agricultural aircraft on July 31.
The Ipanema started off as a project at the end of the 1960s as a substitute for imported agricultural aircraft by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture’s Research and Development Institute, with development of the aircraft coming under Embraer when that company was founded in 1969. Subsequently, the first prototype Ipanema, which was the second aircraft produced by Embraer, made its first flight on July 31 1970 from the company’s headquarters at Sao Jose dos Campos. The original model (EMB 200) had a 260hp (194kW) engine, fixed-pitch propeller, hydraulic spraying system, and a 580 litre hopper.
Since entering production during the 1970s, over 1000 Ipanemas have been delivered, including a number of aircraft with larger hoppers and increased performance. In 2005, Embraer began deliveries of a version of the aircraft which could be fully powered by ethanol.
