Expense Ultimately Doomed Fast, Quiet CBA-123 Vector

Unconventional engineering effort was a clean-sheet reimagining of the 19-seat airliner that later fueled development of the ERJ-135/145 series of regional jets.

Jason McDowell

Tuesday, November 12, 2024 at 10:43 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Kimberly Johnson

From directly below, the CBA-123’s unique wing and unconventional engine configuration are plainly visible. [Credit: Kev Slade]

Key Takeaways:

The Embraer CBA-123 Vector was an unconventional 19-seat short-range airliner project (1986) designed with innovative features to surpass existing turboprops.
Key design elements included rear-mounted pusher turboprops, which significantly reduced cabin noise and vibration, and a unique high-aspect-ratio wing for optimized performance.
These innovations resulted in superior performance, such as a faster cruise speed (328 knots) and higher cruising altitude compared to its contemporaries.
Despite initial airline interest, the program was canceled in the early 1990s because its projected cost nearly doubled, making it too expensive for the market, though Embraer applied lessons learned to later successful regional jets.

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Airliner design, by and large, tends not to embrace the unconventional.

Whether jet or turboprop, we generally see only two general layouts—engines mounted on the wing or aft pylons, and propellers are almost exclusively mounted on the wing. Chalk the lack of variety up to convergent evolution or to operators and markets that favor conservative predictability, but it’s a reality that was almost universally adhered to by major airframe manufacturers.