Brazilian Air Force designation: T-27

Design of the Tucano began in January 1978 as part of a programme to develop a new basic trainer for the Brazilian Air Force. On 6 December that year a contract was received from the Departamento de Pesquisas e Desenvolvimento (Department of Research and Development) of the Brazilian Ministry of Aeronautics, for two flying prototypes plus two airframes for static and fatigue testing. The aircraft meets the requirements of FAR Pt 23 Appendix A and MIL and CAA Section K specifications.
The first prototype (Brazilian Air Force serial number 1300) first flew on 16 August 1980, and the second (1301) on 10 December 1980. A third (PP-ZDK), modified to production standard, flew on 16 August 1982.
The EMB-3I2 is designated T-27 by the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), to which the 118 Tucanos ordered originally were delivered between September 1983 and September 1986. In January 1990 the FAB ordered a further 10, and has options on 40 more.
The Egyptian government ordered 120 Tucanos in September 1983: 40 for its own air force and 80 for Iraq, with options on 60 more, of which 20 would be for Iraq. Embraer built the first 10 of these, which were ferried to Egypt from October 1984 in flyaway condition. Kits for the remaining 110 were delivered to AOI in Egypt; all have now been assembled and delivered. Egypt ordered an additional 14 Tucano kits in early 1989. By 1 January 1991 deliveries had also been made to the air forces of Argentina (30), Honduras (12), Iran (five of 15 on order), Paraguay (six), Peru (20) and Venezuela (31). Tucano deliveries then totalled 396 out of 507 firm orders; options were held for a further 115. The French government has announced its intention to order 80 Tucanos; these will have strengthened wings and French avionics.
The version selected for the Royal Air Force, with British equipment and a more powerful 820 kW (1,100 shp) Garrett TPE331 engine, is being built by Short Brothers and is described under that company's entry in the UK section. The Garrett engined prototype, and kits for 25 of the 130 ordered by the RAF, are included in the 396 delivery total in the preceding paragraph.
The following description applies to the standard Embraer version:

TYPE: Tandem two-seat basic trainer.

WINGS: Cantilever low-wing monoplane. Wing section NACA 63₂A-415 at root, NACA 63A-2I2 at tip. Dihedral 5° 30' at 30 per cent chord. Incidence 1° 25'. Geometric twist 2° 13'. Sweepback 0° 43' 26" at quarter-chord. Aluminium alloy two-spar torsion box structure of 2024-T3511 extrusions and 2024-T3 sheet. Single-slotted electrically actuated trailing-edge flaps of 2024-T3, supported on 4130 steel tracks. Frise constant chord balanced ailerons. Electrically actuated trim tab in and small geared tab on each aileron.

FUSELAGE: Conventional semi-monocoque structure of 2024-T3 aluminium alloy.

TAIL UNIT: Cantilever all metal structure, of similar construction to wings. Non-swept fin, with dorsal fin, and horn balanced rudder. Non-swept fixed incidence tailplane and balanced elevators. Small fillet forward of tailplane root on each side. Electromechanically actuated spring trim in rudder and port elevator.

LANDING GEAR: Hydraulically retractable tricycle type, with single wheel and Piper oleo-pneumatic shock absorber on each unit. Accumulator for emergency extension in the event of hydraulic system failure. Shimmy damper on nose unit. Rearward retracting steerable nose unit; main units retract inward into wings. Parker Hannifin 40-130 mainwheels, Oldi-DI-1.555-02-OL nosewheel. Tyre sizes 6.50-10 (Type III, 8-ply rating) on mainwheels, 5.00-5 (Type III, 6-ply rating) on nosewheel. Tyre pressures (±0.21 bar; 3 lb/sq in in each case) are 5.17 bars (75 lb/sq in) on mainwheels, 4.48 bars (65 lb sq/in) on nosewheel. Parker Hannifin 30-95A hydraulic mainwheel brakes.

POWER PLANT: One 559 kW (750 shp) Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-25C turboprop, driving a Hartzell HC-B3TN-3C/T10178-8R three-blade constant-speed fully feathering reversible-pitch propeller. Single-lever combined control for engine throttling and propeller pitch adjustment. Two integral fuel tanks in each wing, total capacity 694 litres (183.3 US gallons; 152.7 Imp gallons). Fuel tanks lined with anti-detonation plastics foam. Gravity refuelling point in each wing upper surface. Fuel system allows nominally for up to 30 s of inserted flight. (Aircraft has been test flown inverted for up to 10 min.) Provision for two underwing ferry fuel tanks, total capacity 660 litres (174.4 US gallons; 145 Imp gallons).

ACCOMMODATION: Instructor and pupil in tandem, on Martin-Baker BR8LC lightweight ejection seats, in air-conditioned cockpit. One-piece fully transparent vacuum formed canopy, opening sideways to starboard, with internal and external jettison provisions. Rear seat elevated. Dual controls standard. Baggage compartment in rear fuselage, wuh access via door on port side. Cockpit heating and canopy demisting by engine bleed air.

SYSTEMS: Freon cycle air-conditioning system, with engine driven compressor. Single hydraulic system, consisting basically of (a) control unit, including reservoir with usable capacity of 1.9 litres (0.5 US gallon; 0.42 Imp gallon); (b) an engine driven pump with nominal pressure of 131 bars (1,900 lb/sq in) and nominal flow rate of 4.6 litres (1.22 US gallons; 1.1 Imp gallons)/min at 3,800 rpm; (c) landing gear and gear door actuators; (d) filter; (e) shutoff valve; and (f) hydraulic fluid to MIL-H-5606. Under normal operation, hydraulic system actuates landing gear extension/retraction and control of gear doors. Landing gear extension can be performed under emergency operation; emergency retraction may also be possible during landing and T-O with engine running. Reservoir and system are suitable for aerobatics. No pneumatic system. 28V DC electrical power provided by a 6kW starter/generator, 26Ah battery and, for 115V and 26V AC power at 400Hz, a 250VA inverter. Diluter-demand oxygen system conforms to MIL-C-5887 and is supplied individually to each occupant by six MS 21227 D2 type cylinders (total capacity approx 1,200 litres; 317 US gallons; 264 Imp gallons) at a pressure of 31 bars (450 lb/sq in).

AVIONICS: Standard avionics include two Collins VHF-20A transceivers; two Collins 387C-4 audio systems, one Embraer radio transferring system; Telephonics audio control panel; one Collins VIR-31A VOR/ILS/marker beacon receiver; one Collins TDR-90 ATC transponder; one Collins DME-40; one Collins PN-101 gyromagnetic compass; and one Collins ADF-60A.

EQUIPMENT: Landing light in each wing leading-edge; taxying lights on nosewheel unit.

ARMAMENT: Two hardpoints under each wing, each stressed for a max load of 250 kg (551 lb). Typical loads, on GB100-20-36B pylons, include two 0.30 in C2 machine-gun pods, each with 500 rds; four 25 lb Mk 76 practice bombs; four 250 lb Mk 81 general purpose bombs; or four LM-37/7A or LM-70/7 launchers, each with seven rockets (Avibras SBAT-37 and SBAT-70 respectively). Fixed reflex-type gunsight.