EMBRAER DELIVERS RESTORED CBA 123 AIRCRAFT TO MAB
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Brazilian Aerospace Memorial receives the first prototype of the airplane
São José dos Campos, October 2, 2009 –
Embraer delivered the first prototype of the
CBA 123 airplane, yesterday, October 1, to the
Brazilian Aerospace Memorial (Memorial
Aeroespacial Brasileiro – MAB). The ceremony
was held at the Memorial, located inside the
Department of Science and Aerospace
Technology (Departamento de Ciência e
Tecnologia Aeroespacial – DCTA), near the
São José dos Campos Airport and Embraer,
itself. The aircraft was restored by Embraer as
part of the activities in commemoration of the
Company’s 40th anniversary, and it will be
displayed in the outside area of MAB.
“It is a great honor for Embraer to see the first prototype of the CBA 123 on public display at
the Brazilian Aerospace Memorial,” said Horacio Forjaz, Embraer Executive Vice President,
Corporate Affairs. “With this delivery, we are ensuring the preservation of another important
chapter in the history of the Brazilian aeronautics industry.”
“The Memorial is only five years old, but 2009 will go down in history as the year in which we
took a big step forward in expanding its collection: we received prototype number two of the
Bandeirante restored by Embraer, the private collection of the creator and founder of the
Aeronautics Technological Institute (Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica – ITA) and the
DCTA, Air Marshall Casimiro Montenegro Filho, and now the CBA 123,” said Air Force
General Cleonilson Nicácio Silva, General Director of the Department of Science and
Aerospace Technology (Departamento de Ciência e Tecnologia Aeroespacial – DCTA).
The event marked the conclusion of the restoration of the two prototypes of the CBA 123, which
had 19 seats and was developed by Embraer at the end of the ‘80s. The work began in early 2008 with students from the general mechanics course of the National Industrial Apprenticeship Service (Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Industrial – SENAI), and was concluded in May 2009. The second prototype of the CBA 123, tail number PT-ZVB, was delivered to the Aerospace Museum (Museu Aeroespacial – MUSAL), in Rio de Janeiro, last August.
Saturday, October 3, will be a special opportunity to see
the CBA 123 and the rest of the MAB collection, when
the DCTA will open for visitation from 10:00 a.m. to
5:00 p.m. to commemorate the Semana da Asa (Wings
Week) with the residents of the Paraíba Valley region. In
recognition of Aviator’s Day and of Brazilian Air Force
Day (October 23, date of the historic first flight by
Alberto Santos-Dumont), there will be shows by the
Brazilian Smoke Squadron, parachute jumps, and model
airplanes, as well as a static display of civilian and
military airplanes, including models built by Embraer.
About the Brazilian Aerospace Memorial
The Brazilian Aerospace Memorial (Memorial Aeroespacial Brasileiro – MAB) was founded
in 2004. It covers an area of 807,300 square feet (75,000 square meters) and is located inside
the Department of Science and Aerospace Technology (Departamento de Ciência e
Tecnologia Aeroespacial – DCTA). MAB’s mission is to preserve and spread the history of
the Nation’s aerospace research and development, as well as to stimulate a liking for science
and aviation in young people, in order to inspire new callings to aeronautical engineering. It
has an exhibition hall, a multimedia room, an auditorium for 100 people, and a large outdoor
area with several airplanes and rockets on display. The museum’s collection includes mockups
of the Sonda rockets, VLS, and the Convertiplano – one of the first Brazilian aircraft
projects, dating from the 1950s, as well as a pioneering alcohol-powered Dodge car from the
‘70s, the Urubu glider, and the AMX and Bandeirante (one prototype and one series aircraft)
manufactured by Embraer. MAB is open to the public on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays,
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and admission is free. Tuesday through Friday, MAB is visited by
scheduled groups, especially students.
About the CBA 123 aircraft
An aeronautical cooperation agreement between Brazil and Argentina, in 1987, led to the
development of a project, in a partnership between Embraer and FAMA (Fábrica Argentina
de Material Aeroespacial): the CBA 123 (CBA stood for Cooperation between Brazil and
Argentina), which was commercially called Vector.
The CBA 123 was a sophisticated and modern airplane that offered significant improvements, in
terms of technical innovation, speed, safety, and comfort. Equipped with a “pusher” type engine
that was installed at the rear of the fuselage with propellers at the back, the aircraft was designed for 19 passengers. The certification campaign had two prototypes, and the first flight was made by the aircraft with tail number PT-ZVE, on July 18, 1990.
The advanced design showed to be incompatible with market expectations, which in the early
‘90s experienced a sharp crisis, following the Gulf War, making it economically unfeasible and
causing it to be canceled. The technical cooperation agreement with the Argentine industry was
discontinued in 1991, and the project was finally terminated in 1995. Several of the technologies
developed for the CBA 123, however, were later incorporated into the ERJ 145 program.
