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Embraer EMB 202 Ipanema is an
agricultural aircraft used for
aerial application, particularly
crop dusting. It is produced by
Indústria Aeronáutica Neiva, a subsidiary of
Embraer located in the
Brazilian city of
Botucatu. The latest version of this aircraft is the first
ethanol-powered fixed-wing aircraft, which could give it an economical advantage over the
gasoline version. The aircraft is widely employed in Brazil, having market share of about 80%, and the 1,000th delivery was completed on March 15, 2005. Besides aircraft, alcohol-conversion kits for gasoline-powered Ipanemas are also sold. It's common to think that the
Ipanema name comes from the
Rio de Janeiro beach, but it actually comes from a farm with the same name, where it was first tested.
Development
In the 1960s, the development of a Brazilian agriculture aircraft was motivated by the expansion of agricultural products' market, specifically
soybean and
sugar cane. During this time, the
Ipanema aircraft was developed by engineers of the
Aeronautics Technological Institute on the Ipanema Farm, located in
Sorocaba.
The first version of the aircraft, the
EMB-200, made its first flight in 1970 and was
certified in December 1971. The aircraft was equipped with a 260 HP
piston engine. Series production started in 1972 by Embraer. In September 1974, the
EMB-201 was introduced,...
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