Identify an Embraer

It's very common for people to be at an airport and wonder what model the plane outside a window, in front of you or that you’re in is, especially in the case of regional aircraft, or small planes. Embraer is one of the most common aircraft manufacturers, and it sometimes can be hard to tell whether the plane that just took off or the plane at the gate is an Embraer. In this article, you will learn some of the traits and aspects to tell whether an aircraft is an Embraer or not.

Steps

Examining External Features

  1. Look at the engine placement of the aircraft. Almost all Embraer commercial jets have one thing in common: they only have two engines. However, the placement of them is different, so you have to watch out.
    • See if the engines are placed close to the rear at the aircraft. The engines should be mounted on the body and close to the tale. If so, it's possible it's an Embraer ERJ series. [1]
    • See if the engines are placed below the wings. If the engines are placed below the wings, it's possible it's an Embraer E-Jet or E-Jet E2 series aircraft. [2]
  2. Look at the shape of the engines. All regional commercial Embraers have near-circular engines. This means that the engines are almost perfectly round.
    • Most Embraer aircraft have small engines compared to larger manufacturers like Boeing or Airbus. Unlike a lot of Boeing aircraft, Embraer's engines are almost always round.{{greenbox:Did You Know? The new Pratt & Whitney PW1000G turbofan engines select for the E-Jet E2 series makes the aircraft a lot faster and quieter. Their engines are round, too. [3]}}
  3. Look at the nose of the aircraft. The nose, or the tip of an airplane, is where the cockpit is located. The nose is an easy way to identify an aircraft. All Embraer aircraft have very pointy noses.
    • The nose is very sharp. The top of the aircraft comes down at a mild angle until it reaches the bottom. The bottom, however, doesn't bend upward a lot to meet the top. Because of this, all Embraer have long and shape noses.
    • All Embraer have pointy noses, and they look very much different than how you would regularly find a Boeing, Airbus, or McDonnell Douglas. The nose isn't actually very long, but the design creates an illusion of this.
  4. Look at the angle of the last cockpit window pane. The cockpit window panes are located at the very front of the aircraft. This is an easy way to identify an Embraer.
    • The edge window pane of all Embraer's have a 90-degree angle (or close to that). This means that the pane's bottom-right area (or bottom-left, depending on the side you're looking at) has a right angle.
  5. Look at the number of gear pairs the aircraft has. [4]All commercial Embraer's have 3 sets of gear: 1 in the front, and 2 in the back.
    • A pair or set of gear is 2 tires on one "pillar," and forms a set of gear. So technically there is 6 gear total, but usually, people consider 1 set (2 tires) as one gear.
  6. Look at the connection between the tail and the body. The connection, or the place where the tail meets the body of the aircraft can be an easy way to differentiate an Embraer from other small-sized jets.
    • The connection where the tail meets the body of an Embraer has a long slope. [5] This means that the tail doesn't connect to the body sharply. There's an extended slope on the tail.
    • This is one of the known ways to differentiate a Bombardier from an Embraer. Bombardiers come down to the body in a weird position: there's still an extended slope, nut that extension doesn't connect to the body. It stops right above the body, and a perpendicular connection forms the end of the tail. {{greenbox:Did You Know? Boeing also has this "extended slope" on its aircraft's tail, and Airbus doesn't. It's one of the known ways to differentiate the two manufacturers.}}
  7. Look for if the gear is visible after takeoff. The gear (tires) are the wheels of a plane. After takeoff, the gear retracts into the plane.
    • See if you can see the gear in the belly. This means that after takeoff, the gear is still visible, but it retracts into the plane. Because of this, you'll see the gear in a "hole," but there's nothing that covers it.
      • This can be quite hard to see as it is only possible when the plane is in the air, usually right after takeoff.
  8. Look at the shape of the tail cone of the aircraft. The tail cone, or the rear tip of an airplane, is a good add-on to whether an airplane is Embraer. All Embraer's have a round and somewhat pointy tail cone. This means that the tail isn't blunt or flat.

Examining Other Traits

  1. Examine the yoke of the aircraft. The yoke, or the control column, is like the steering wheel of a plane. This can be found in the cockpit, with two yokes (one in front of the captain's seat and one in front of the first officer's).
    • See if the yoke is "M" shaped. This means that the control column's shape resembles the letter M. If it doesn't resemble an "M," it's most likely not an Embraer.
    • Note that there are exceptions, so don't make this the single deciding factor.{{greenbox:Note: After 9/11 attacks, security on planes have become ever so strict so visiting the cockpit of a plane isn't always possible.}}
  2. Examine the safety card onboard. This always mentions the model of the aircraft. If you see any of the following prefixes, you'll know the plane is an Embraer. Please note that these are only the most common and most popular model prefixes, so there will be exceptions.[6][7]
    • E-Jet
    • ERJ
    • E
    • Embraer
  3. Look at the model on your flight ticket or your "online ticket." It should and will mention the name of the aircraft, and should once again tell you the model. The aircraft types are listed above.
    • The aircraft model will more likely show on an online ticket (or the online "flight plan"). It should give you the aircraft model and the aircraft specifications.
  4. Look for the Embraer logo. One deciding factor to identify an aircraft's manufacturer is to take a look at the manufacturer's logo. This can usually be found near the door of a plane.
    • An Embraer logo looks like a simple horizontal bird. This is like a sideways V with a horizontal line through it.

Related Articles

References

  1. ↑ https://airlinerspotter.com/embraer-airliner-spotting-guide.htm
  2. ↑ https://airlinerspotter.com/embraer-ejet-airliner-spotting-guide.htm
  3. ↑ http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aerospace/2013-01-14/embraer-turns-true-believer-pratts-gtf
  4. ↑ https://airlinerspotter.com/embraer-airliner-spotting-guide.htm
  5. ↑ https://airlinerspotter.com/embraer-ejet-airliner-spotting-guide.htm
  6. ↑ https://www.aircraftcompare.com/manufacturers/embraer/
  7. ↑ https://airlinerspotter.com/embraer-airliner-spotting-guide.htm
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