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President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) will have a fleet of planes and helicopters at his disposal while he is in office.
How is the fleet
- It is made up of a group of helicopters and planes of different types, which can be used for service or for security reasons and always serve national representatives.
- All aircraft are the responsibility of the FAB (Brazilian Air Force) and are part of the GTE (Special Transport Group), which turns 82 in 2023.
- Each one is chosen according to flight distance, duration, safety, availability, among other factors.
- The president uses, as a priority, the VC-1 and VC-2, while the other aircraft are used more frequently by other authorities.
The aircraft in use today are as follows
VC-1 (Airbus 319)
Flight attendants on the VC-1 presidential plane, an Airbus A319 named after Santos Dumont
Image: Petty Officer Johnson/Brazilian Air Force
Curiosity: He was baptized Santos Dumont and nicknamed Aerosquidbecause it was bought during the PT’s first term
Wingspan (distance from wing tip to tip): 35.8 meters
Length: 33.8 meters
Height: 11.8 meters
empty weight: 42 tons
Maximum speed: 985 km/h
Max flight altitude: 12,496 m
VC-2 (Embraer 190)
An Embraer E190 plane with the designation VC-2 in the service of the President of the Republic
Image: Lieutenant Enilton Kirshhof/Brazilian Air Force
Curiosity: there are two VC-2who were baptized as Bartolomeu de Gusmão and Augusto Severo
Wingspan: 28.7 meters
Length: 38.6 meters
Height: 10.3 meters
empty weight: 28.1 tons
Maximum speed: 859 km/h
Max flight altitude: 12,496 meters
VC-99 (Embraer 135 and 145 and Legacy 600)
Aircraft Special Transport Group VC-99 aircraft
Image: Corporal André Feitosa/Brazilian Air Force
Embraer model ERJ145 (VC-99A)
Wingspan: 21 meters
Length: 29.9 meters
Height: 6.8 meters
empty weight: 17.9 tons
Maximum speed: 830 km/h
Max flight altitude: 11,278 meters
Model Embraer Legacy 600 (VC-99B)
Wingspan: 21 meters
Length: 26 meters
Height: 6.8 meters
empty weight: 13.7 tons
Maximum speed: 870 km/h
Max flight altitude: 12,496 meters
Model Embraer ERJ135 (VC-99C)
Wingspan: 20 meters
Length: 26.3 meters
Height: 6.8 meters
empty weight: 16 tons
Maximum speed: 830 km/h
Max flight altitude: 11,278 meters
VH-35 (EC-135)
FAB VH-35 in 2008. Model is used to transport authorities
Image: Petty Officer Johson Barros/Brazilian Air Force
Length: 12.2 meters
Height: 3.5 meters
Empty Weight: 1,455 kg
Maximum speed: 259 km/h
Max flight altitude: 6,096 meters
Main rotor diameter: 10.20 meters
VH-36 Caracal (EC-725)
VH-36 Caracal, used in presidential and other official transports
Image: Sergeant Paulo Rezende/Brazilian Air Force
Length: 16.79 meters
Height: 4.97 meters
empty weight: 5.3 tons
Maximum speed: 324 km/h
Max flight altitude: 6,095 meters
Main rotor diameter: 16.20 meters
Other aircraft
In the past, presidents also had aircraft such as helicopters at their disposal. VH-55 Squirrel (family model) AS350) and VH-34 Super Puma (family model) AS332).
In 1976, they were incorporated into the fleet of the GTE two Boeings 737-200, named VC-96. nicknamed scraptoday one of them is at the Musal (Aerospace Museum), in Rio de Janeiro, while the other is on a lawn in Foz do Iguaçu.
Sucatão, plane used by the presidents of Brazil between 1986 and 2005
Image: Disclosure/FAB
Another was the Sucatão, a Boeing 707 with the military designation of KC-137. The nickname was given because of the age of the aircraft, which was manufactured in 1968 and only ceased to be the main presidential transport plane with the beginning of flights with the Aerosquidin 2005.
GTE aircraft, responsible for transporting the president and other authorities
Image: FAB
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