Embraer marked the delivery of its 1,600th Ipanema agricultural aircraft, which punctuated a period of rising sales.
The Brazilian aerospace company said its Agricultural Aviation Division delivered 65 Ipanemas during 2023, an increase of 18 percent compared with the previous year. By year’s end, the company had delivered 1,600 of the aircraft whose design dates back more than 50 years.
Production of the design, which first flew in 1970 as the EMB-200, has continued uninterrupted through the decades. Since launching the latest version, called the EMB-203, in 2020, the company said it has “seen continuous growth in sales” and plans to boost production to 70 aircraft in 2024.
“Agribusiness has a significant positive impact on Brazil’s gross domestic product, and we are very pleased to see how the Ipanema has contributed to the sector’s high productivity, efficiency, and sustainability,” said Sany Onofre, manager of Embraer’s Ipanema program.
The piston-single Ipanema, powered by a Lycoming 540 engine, is popular in the Brazilian market among pilots and farmers. It is known as a sturdy workhorse with features that reduce operating costs and lower emissions. Embraer also offers an ethanol-powered version of the Ipanema and has tested an electric variant as part of a program to develop electric power for future aircraft.
