The Embraer EMB 121 Xingu (, named after the

Xingu River The Xingu River ( ; ; ) is a river in north Brazil. It is a southeast tributary of the Amazon River and one of the largest clearwater rivers in the Amazon basin, accounting for about 5% of its water. __TOC__ Description and history The fir ...

) is a twin-

turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...

fixed-wing aircraft A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using aerodynamic lift. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft (in which a rotor mounted on a spinning shaft generate ...

built by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer,

Embraer Embraer S.A. () is a Brazilian multinational aerospace corporation. It develops and manufactures aircraft and aviation systems, and provides leasing, equipment, and technical support services. Embraer is the third largest producer of civil air ...

. The design is based on the EMB 110 Bandeirante, using its wing and engine design merged with an all-new

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

. The EMB 121 first flew on 10 October 1976.Michell 1994, p.9 A modified form of the EMB 121, the EMB 121A1 Xingu II, was introduced on 4 September 1981 with a more powerful engine (PT6A-135), increased seating (8 or 9 passengers) and a larger fuel capacity. Before production ceased in 1987, Embraer had produced 106 EMB 121 aircraft, 51 of which were exported to countries outside Brazil.

Development and design

In 1975, Embraer began development of a family of three derivatives of its

Bandeirante ''Bandeirantes'' (; ; singular: ''bandeirante'') were settlers in colonial Brazil who participated in expeditions to expand the colony's borders and subjugate indigenous peoples during the early modern period. They played a major role in exp ...

airliner, all of which were to feature a pressurised fuselage and

T-tail A T-tail is an empennage wikt:configuration, configuration in which the tailplane of an aircraft is mounted to the top of the vertical stabilizer, fin. The arrangement looks like the capital letter T, hence the name. The T-tail differs fr ...

. The smallest of the three, and the first to be launched, was the EMB-121 Xingu, designed to carry six passengers in a typical layout, with a maximum of nine passengers carried.''Air International'' September 1983, pp. 111, 113–114 The Xingu is a low-winged cantilever

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

with a retractable tricycle undercarriage and a circular section fuselage. Its wing is based on that used by the Bandeirante, but with reduced wingspan. Like the Bandeirante, it is powered by two

Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 is a turboprop aircraft engine produced by Pratt & Whitney Canada. Its design was started in 1958, it first ran in February 1960, first flew on 30 May 1961, entered service in 1964, and has been continuously upd ...

engines.''Air International'' September 1983, p. 122 The prototype Xingu, registration ''PP-ZXI'', flew for the first time from Embraer's

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

factory on 10 October 1976. Testing resulted in a number of changes to improve performance and handling, including increasing wingspan by by adding swept wingtips, fitting a

yaw damper A yaw damper (sometimes referred to as a stability augmentation system) is a system used to reduce (or damp) the undesirable tendencies of an aircraft to oscillate in a repetitive rolling and yawing motion, a phenomenon known as the Dutch roll. ...

and adding a large ventral fin.''Air International'' September 1983, p. 114 The first production aircraft made its maiden flight on 20 May 1977, and was exhibited at that year's

Paris Air Show The Paris Air Show (, ''Salon du Bourget'') is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in France. Organized by the French aerospace industry's primary representative body, the ''Groupement des industries frança ...

. The Xingu received its Brazilian

type certificate A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). Certification confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production is in compliance w ...

in May 1977, followed by certification by the British Civil Aviation Authority in July that year. On 26 July 1980, Embraer flew the prototype Xingu modified to a new version, with its fuselage stretched by the addition of a plug ahead of the wing and a plug aft of the wing, with the wing span increased by . The new version, which was intended to be better suited to the US market, was powered by two PT5A-42 engines, and had more fuel, increasing the aircraft's range. It was initially designated Xingu II, but when development was slowed by Embraer concentrating on other programmes (such as the Tucano, Brasilia and AMX), it was decided to introduce an interim improved version with more power as the EMB-121A1 Xingu II, and the stretched version became the EMB-121B Xingu III.''Air International'' September 1983, pp. 114, 121 Development of the Xingu III had been abandoned by 1984. The Xingu II, meanwhile, first flew on 4 September 1981, and was powered by two PT6A-135 engines, giving increased performance.''Air International'' September 1983, p. 121 It replaced the original version in production after 29 had been built.Simpson 1995, p. 178 Xingu Is could be modified to Xingu II standard, and that option was taken by several operators. Production of the Xingu continued to 1987, with a total of 106 Xingus being built.

Service

Initial deliveries of the Xingu were mainly to customers in Brazil, both civil operators and the armed forces, with the

Brazilian Air Force The Brazilian Air Force (, FAB) is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Brazilian Brazilian Army Aviation (1919–1941), Army and Brazilian Naval Aviation, Nav ...

receiving six in 1978 for VIP transport. In September 1980, the Xingu was selected by the French

Ministry of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

for a multi-engine training aircraft for the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

(''Armée de l'air'') and

French Naval Aviation French Naval Aviation (often abbreviated in French to: (contraction of ), or , or more simply ) is the naval air arm of the French Navy. The long-form official designation is . Born as a fusion of aircraft carrier squadrons and the naval pat ...

(''Aéronavale'') which would also be suitable for liaison duties for the navy. The Xingu was selected ahead of the American

Beechcraft King Air The Beechcraft King Air is a line of American utility aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The King Air line comprises a number of twin-turboprop models that have been divided into two families. The Model 90 and 100 series developed in the 1960s ...

and

Cessna 425 The Cessna 425, known as the Corsair and later as the Conquest I, is an eight-seat American pressurized turboprop twin-engined light aircraft. Now out of production, it was built by Cessna Aircraft of Wichita, Kansas, between 1980 and 1986. De ...

. A total of 41 aircraft were purchased, 25 for the French Air Force and 16 for the Navy, with deliveries completed by the end of 1983.''Air International'' September 1983, pp. 121–122 The Brazilian Air Force's Xingus remained in service until 2010. The Xingu remained in French service in 2022, with 22 in Air Force and 10 in Navy service.

Variants

;EMB 121A Xingu I : Initial production version, powered by two

A-28 engines. ;EMB 121A1 Xingu II : Revised production version, powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-135 engines. ;EMB 121B Xingu III : Projected stretched development, single prototype converted, but no production,Taylor 1984, p. 15 powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-42 engines. ;EMB 123 Tapajós : Initially proposed 10-seat derivative with new wings and powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-45 engines.Taylor 1976, p. 123 Abandoned in favour of simpler Xingu III.''Air International'' September 1983, p. 113 ;EMB 120 Araguaia : 20–24 seat version, with same wings and engine as EMB 123, but stretched fuselage. Later developed into larger 30-seater

Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia The Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia is a twin-turboprop 30-passenger regional airliner, commuter airliner designed and manufactured by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. The EMB 120 began development during 1974. While initially conceived as ...

, with much less commonality to EMB-121 than originally planned. ;VU-9 : Brazilian Air Force designation. ;EC-9 : Brazilian Air Force designation for an electronic warfare variant of the EMB 121.

Military operators

; *

French Air and Space Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the French Air F ...

Specifications (EMB 121A1 Xingu II)

References

Notes

Bibliography

EMB-121 information at Airliners.net
* * * * * * *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Embraer Emb 121 Xingu 1970s Brazilian military utility aircraft Embraer aircraft T-tail aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1976 Twin-turboprop tractor aircraft Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear