Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante

The EMB 110 Bandeirante, whose name means pioneer in Portuguese, is a twin-turboprop light transport aircraft that Embraer built for both military and civil customers. It was designed to a 1965 specification of the Brazilian Ministry of Aeronautics, which asked for a reliable, cheap-to-run general purpose aircraft suited to the country's existing airports, and the French engineer Max Holste led the design. The prototype flew from São José dos Campos on 26 October 1968, and the programme led directly to the founding of Embraer in 1969. Type certification came in late 1972 and airline service began with Transbrasil in April 1973. Over a 22-year production run the Bandeirante was adapted for observation, maritime patrol and search and rescue work, and production ended in 1990 in favour of the larger EMB 120 Brasilia.