Embraer started putting light aircraft manufactured under license from Piper on the Brazilian market as of 1975. The success of this partnership led two other Piper planes to be incorporated to Embraer's catalog.

In 1984, Embraer rolled-out its project for a new version of the Navajo, the EMB 821 Carajá. The main change was the replacement of the two 350-HP Lycoming piston engines, which ran on "blue gasoline," by two kerosene-fired 550-SHP Pratt Whitney ones. The change was intended to win over air taxi customers. The new twin-engine turboprop could carry up to eight passengers.

The Carajá was first presented publicly on October 27 1984, during the First National "Velhas Águas" Overfly, at the Bacacheri Airport, in Curitiba.

In 1986, Embraer launched a consortium for Carajá sales, and it was a great hit: in just 52 days, 28 Carajá aircraft were sold.

Embraer Piper Partnership

With only five years of existence, Embraer was already considered a solid company in 1974. With 3,000 employees, it had three successful aircraft on the market: the Bandeirante, for civil aviation; the Xavante, for military purposes; and the Ipanema, designed for agricultural use. But there were other markets to be won: in 1973, Brazil ranked first in the Southern Hemisphere among the importers of light, small single-engine or twin-engine aircraft with up to ten seats, which at the time were in great demand by Brazilian companies for executive travel, especially those manufactured by U.S. outfit Piper Aircraft Corporation. It was predicted that by 1978, the Brazilian market would absorb about 3,000 light aircraft. It would take three to five years for Embraer to develop similar aircraft, taking into account the studies required to conceive, design, and manufacture them, etc., which required resources that were not available. To get around the issue, Embraer entered into negotiations with Piper to produce some of their aircraft under license in Brazil.

During the celebrations of Embraer's fifth anniversary, the company signed a cooperation agreement with Piper to develop, produce, and market their light aircraft. Shortly after the agreement was made formal, the Brazilian government raised the import taxes for foreign light airplanes from 7% to 50%.

Initially, Embraer would manufacture only two aircraft, the twin-engine EMB 820 Navajo (Piper Navajo Chifetais) and the EMB 810 Seneca (Piper Seneca III). However, as early as 1974, the manufacturing of the single-engine EMB 720 Minuano (Cherokee Six) was also incorporated into Embraer's production line. That same year, the Company hired Neiva to produce the EMB 710 Carioca (Cherokee 235 Pathfinder) and EMB 711 Corisco (Cherokee Arrow II), all of Piper.

The five aircraft were presented officially on June 17, 1975, and during the event an EMB 710 Brazilian Carioca was raffled among air clubs, aimed at honoring these groups' activities. The winner was the Bragança Paulista Air Club. From 1976 to 1984, three more light aircraft were rolled-out: Tupi (Piper Archer II), Sertanejo (Cherokee Lance), and Carajá, the latter being an updated version of the Navajo, for a total of eight light aircraft.

In 1978, Embraer went on to produce the planes locally, with parts and components made in Brazil, except for a few items, and, in 1984, the entire light aircraft production line was transferred to Neiva, in Botucatu, State of São Paulo.

Light aircraft production went beyond expectations, since a total of 2326 Piper aircraft were delivered between 1975 and 2000.

Project name:	Carajá
Embraer Code:	EMB 821
Market niche:	Light Aviation
Launch:	1984
First sale:	1984
Production termination:	1992

DIMENSIONS
Length	10.55 m	34.61 ft
Height	3.96 m	12.99 ft
Wingspan	12.39 m	40.64 ft
PERFORMANCE
Top cruise speed	407 km/h	220 kt
Range	1666 km	900 nm
Takeoff distance (top weight, sea level, ISA)	701 m	2300 ft
Landing distance (sea level, ISA)	602 m	1975 ft
Powerplant	2 550-SHP Pratt Whitney turbines