LABACE 2019 opens today in an economy where “the worst passed two years ago,” according to Flávio Pires, CEO of host Brazilian Association for Business Aviation (ABAG). He illustrated the effect of the crisis on the general aviation fleet with a chart showing the enthusiastic growth that prevailed through 2014 slowing to less than one percent from 2016 onward, with a drop of 0.15 percent in the country’s fleet in the first half of 2019. However, he noted, “There are signs of improvement for the second half.”
This year’s LABACE will repeat some innovations introduced in 2018: a circular layout that leaves no exhibitor at a dead end, a covered static display for rotary-wing aircraft, expanded this year to meet demand, and simultaneous conferences on the same stage, with headphones allowing the audience to hear the speaker they’re interested in, in English or Portuguese.
Novelties at this year’s LABACE are Embraer’s Praetor midsize business jet and Swiss startup Kopter, bringing the same mockup shown at Heli-Expo of a single-turbine helicopter with a large cabin adaptable for multiple uses. The fair will showcase 47 aircraft, with most of the major aircraft manufacturers bringing their latest products.
Fifty years after the first flight of the Embraer Bandeirante, Desaer (Desenvolvimento Aeronáutica) is working on its ATL-100 project for an “Avião de Transporte Leve” (light transport aircraft) that it says is the ideal modern substitute for the Brazilian classic. The project is aimed at producing a twin-engine utility transport that can be used for both regional commercial and military transport tasks. A simple cabin and cockpit mock-up is on show at LABACE 2019.
To be powered by two turboprops in the 1,000-shp class, the ATL-100 is an unpressurized transport of high-wing, T-tail configuration with low cost of acquisition and operation as key design drivers. It has a square-section cabin that can be arranged to accommodate either 19-passenger seating in a single row on the left and double row on the right; 12 paratroops, and two jumpmasters on sidewall tip-up seats; stretchers for the aeromedical evacuation/air ambulance role; or three LD3 containers.
Desaer is aiming for ANAC certification under the Part 23.3(d) Commuter category with a maximum takeoff weight of up to 8,620 kg (19,000 pounds). The aircraft has a wingspan of around 20 meters (66 feet). Maximum cruising speed is expected to be 232 knots, with a long-range cruise speed of around 205 knots. Typical range is quoted as more than 864 nm. The aircraft can operate from unpaved airstrips.
The “pirate” charter problem in Brazil includes air charters by companies not authorized to perform them; private aircraft making flights for payment; or authorized charter operators advertising flights on a Part 135-compliant aircraft and the client finding a different, non-compliant aircraft when he reaches the ramp.
Piracy in Aviation will be a subject of discussion Wednesday at LABACE. Panelists will include Marcelo Lima, ANAC manager of inspection who commands a network of 200 agents spread around the country; Renato Hamilton Souza Rodrigues, coordinator of intelligence; and Luciana Ferreira da Silva, responsible for the Brazilian Aeronautic Registry (RAB), which like the VoeSeguro app, has been showing improvement.
While major efforts are being made, pirate air charter is a problem entrenched in culture and in geography. Charter flights are commonly employed for big-name entertainers, often arranged by a local show promoter concerned with profit margins. Publicly grounding a pirate charter and leaving a celebrity stranded in the boondocks is a sure and inexpensive route to media coverage. If unauthorized flights can take place in plain sight, what about the country’s backwaters? Two hundred agents for a country the size of the continental U.S. is not very many.
LABACE 2019 features a full slate of speakers, examining the present and suggesting a strong future for Brazilian business aviation. The keynote speaker is well-known Brazilian economic journalist and former Central Bank director of international affairs Alexandre Schwartsman, who will address Brazil’s Political and Economic Scenario from the Second Half of 2019.
As at last year’s event, the auditorium is integrated with the exhibits and static display area, making it easier to hear the speakers. This morning’s opening and keynote will use the full stage, as will the first panel after lunch, discussing Technology and Disruption in Business Aviation.
At 3:30 p.m., the auditorium will host three events at once, grouped by theme. The political/Institutional stage will host the IV Labace Aeromedical Seminar. Until a few years ago the sector was restricted by law to police, but it is now open to private enterprise. Simultaneously, the sector theme will cover discussion of commercial applications of drones in Brazil. That will be followed by Management and Finances of General Aviation Companies.
The programming was curated by Raul Marinho, technical consultant to ABAG, along with ABAG chairman Flávio Pires and Rodrigo Cordeiro of event organizer MCI. “The topics were chosen in accordance with the projects we developed over the last year with ABAG’s technical experts,” Marinho told AIN.
On Monday August 19, Embraer celebrates its 50th birthday, and at LABACE it is showing an immaculately presented example of the Bandeirante, to represent the company’s proud heritage, alongside its latest executive jet creations—the Praetor 500 and 600.
In early 1965 Brazil’s CTA (aerospace technical center) launched a program to produce a regional airliner that could serve smaller communities. The CTA’s IPD (institute for research and development) produced a range of potential design concepts, of which the fourth was selected to proceed. The program was formally launched on June 15, 1965. The CTA’s director, Brigadier Paulo Victor da Silva, named it the Bandeirante.
The CTA built two prototypes, and the first made its first flight on October 22, 1968. Success in flight trials paved the way for the production of the aircraft, a task for which Embraer was specifically formed in 1969. Manufacture began in January 1970, and the first aircraft produced—the third Bandeirante—first flew on June 29 that year. The initial eight-seat EMB-100 version was replaced by the stretched 12-seat EMB-110, which was first ordered by the FAB (Brazilian air force). Deliveries to the FAB and initial commercial customer TransBrasil began in 1973.
Experience with the EMB-110 laid a firm foundation for the development of Embraer into a global company that today offers a range of regional airliners, executive jets, trainers/light attack aircraft, and military transports.
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