Design of an agricultural aircraft, to a specification laid down by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, was initiated in May 1969 by the Departmento de Aeronaves of the nation's Centra Te'chnico de Aeronautica. Following the establishment of EMBRAER on 2 January 1970 to promote a Brazilian aircraft industry, responsibility for development of this new single-seat agricultural aircraft was transferred to EMBRAER and the prototype was flown for the first time on 30 July 1970.

Designated originally EMBRAER EMB-200 Ipanema, the aircraft was a cantilever low-wing monoplane of all-metal construction with fixed tailwheel landing gear and power provided by a 194kW Avco Lycoming O-540-H2B5D engine. Brazilian type certification was gained on 14 December 1971 and initial production versions were the EMB-200 and EMB-200A which differed by having fixed-pitch and variable-pitch propellers respectively. In 1974, after 73 EMB-200 series aircraft had been built, production of an improved EMB-201 began; this latter differed by having a 224kW IO-540 engine with a constant-speed propeller and detail improvements. A total of 200 EMB-201s was built. In 1977, the updated EMB-201A first flown on 10 March, entered production. This introduced a new wing profile, improved systems and revisions in cockpit layout. Built since 1981 by Industria Aeronautica Neiva, an EMBRAER subsidiary, a total of 355 had been ordered by 1990, bringing total Ipanema sales to more than 630. In 1988, by which time 600 had been delivered, a further improved Ipanema was launched, but without a new designation, and options include a three-bladed Hartzell propeller.

3-View

A three-view drawing (800 x 366)