On this day in aviation history, 45 years ago (August 16, 1980), the Embraer EMB 312 Tucano took flight for the first time. Spanish for the Toucan bird, the EMB 312 is a Brazilian basic trainer and light attack aircraft. The Tucano is a low-wing turboprop design that features tandem seating for student and instructor. In 1978, the Brazilian Air Force opted to use the state-owned Embraer aircraft company to develop a new military trainer. At the time, Brazil was trying to reduce their reliance on outside nations for supplies. Keeping the new aircraft’s development in-house made the most sense.
The Brazilian Air Force requested that the new plane have upgrades from Embraer’s already existing EMB 311, which was a counter-insurgency aircraft slated to be re-purposed as a dual-role attack-trainer.. As a result, the engine was upgraded to a more powerful PT6A-25C turbine, the rear cockpit was raised (for enhanced instructor visibility), and ejection seats were added to the design. Additional modifications to the landing gear, fuselage, and control surfaces made the new EMB 312 a completely different aircraft from anything Embraer had built before.
The EMB 312’s Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-25C turboprop engine gives the aircraft 740 horsepower – enough to reach a maximum speed of 285 miles per hour. The Tucano has a range of 1,035 nautical miles, and a service ceiling of 28,710 feet. The airframe is sturdy with a +6 /-3 G tolerance – a requirement for military flight training and ground-attack purposes. EMB 312s can be heavily armed with gun-pods, rocket pods, and up to 2,200 pounds of bombs.
Embraer’s dual-threat trainer and attack aircraft has seen service with many nations since its service introduction in 1983 – including the Brazilian, Egyptian, Argentine, and Peruvian Air Forces. A total of 637 Tucanos were manufactured during the aircraft’s production run from 1980 to 1996. Today, the Tucano is slowly seeping into the civilian warbird market, as more airframes become available in their military retirement years. Check out Platinum Fighter Sales’ listing HERE. The EMB 312 is a unique aircraft that offers fighter performance, a hard bargain to turn down.
