Embraer/FMA CBA 123 Vector

The CBA 123 Vector was a 19-seat regional turboprop airliner developed jointly by Embraer of Brazil and the Argentine Fabrica Militar de Aviones (FMA), the CBA standing for Brazil-Argentina Cooperation. Embraer started the design in 1985 to replace the aging EMB 110 Bandeirante, and in 1986 the two countries agreed to share the work, Embraer taking 67 percent and FMA 33 percent. Its unusual layout put a rear-mounted Garrett turboprop, selected in 1987, behind a fuselage derived from a shorter Brasilia, to cut cabin noise and vibration. The Vector's inaugural flight took place on 18 July 1990, and a second prototype flew in March 1991 and appeared at the Paris Air Show. Costs and a political crisis in Brazil ended the programme with only two prototypes built, though its work fed into the ERJ 145.