FMA I.Ae. 27 Pulqui I

IAe 27 Pulqui I
The I.Ae. 27 Pulqui I prototype at Moron airfield
Role	Fighter
Manufacturer	Fabrica Militar de Aviones (FMA)
Designer	Émile Dewoitine
First flight	9 August 1947
Retired	1951
Primary user	Fuerza Aérea Argentina
Number built	1 prototype
Variants	FMA IAe 33 Pulqui II

The I.Ae. 27 Pulqui I was an Argentine jet fighter designed at the "Instituto Aerotecnico" (AeroTechnical Institute) in 1946. Only one prototype was completed; unsatisfactory performance led to the aircraft being superseded by a later design.

Design and development

The design was created by a team led by the French engineer Émile Dewoitine which included engineers Juan Ignacio San Martín (mil.), Enrique Cardeilhac, Cesare Pallavicino and Norberto L. Morchio.

The fuselage was semi-monocoque with an elliptical cross-section housing a single Rolls-Royce Derwent 5 engine with the air intake in the nose and the ducting surrounding the cockpit. The reduced internal fuselage volume forced the fuel tanks to be installed in the wings, which resulted in a significant reduction of its range.

Testing and evaluation

Pulqui I prototype in flight (c.1951)

The prototype flew on 9 August 1947 with test pilot 1st. Lt. Osvaldo Weiss at the controls. The history of this aircraft was brief, as its performance was considered unsatisfactory and in the meantime studies for the more developed FMA IAe 33 Pulqui II were quite advanced. Nevertheless, its role in the history of aviation is quite significant as it was the first jet combat aircraft developed and built in Argentina and Latin America. This made Argentina the 6th nation in the world to accomplish this task by itself.

The restored prototype is currently displayed at the Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica de Argentina of the Argentine Air Force at Morón, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Operators

FMA I.Ae. 27 Pulqui I on display at Technopolis

Argentina

• Argentine Air Force

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: one
• Length: 9.69 m (31 ft 9 in)
• Wingspan: 11.25 m (36 ft 11 in) (initial version with rounded wingtips) or 10.50 m (34 ft) (final version, squared wingtips)
• Height: 3.39 m (11 ft 1 in)
• Wing area: 19.7 m² (212 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 2,358 kg (5,199 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 3,600 kg (7,937 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Derwent 5 centrifugal compressor turbojet, 16 kN (3,600 lbf) thrust

Performance

• Maximum speed: 720 km/h (447 mph; 389 kn)
• Range: 900 km (559 mi; 486 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 15,500 m (50,853 ft)

Armament

• 4 x 20 mm cannon + underwing bombs or rockets (not fitted to prototypes)

See also

Related development

• FMA I.Ae.33 Pulqui II

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-9
• Yakovlev Yak-19
• P-80 Shooting Star

Related lists

• List of fighter aircraft

References

Bibliography

• "Article on the 50th anniversary of the "Fabrica Militar de Aviones"(in Spanish)- listing all the aircraft developed and manufactured there since 1927. Aerospacio (Buenos Aires), 1977.
• Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1951. London: Jane's All the World's Aircraft, 1951.
• Ogden, Bob. Aviation Museums and Collections of the Rest of the World. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 2008. ISBN 978-0-85130-394-9.

External links

• (Spanish) Development and Specifications
• IAe 27 Pulqui / Flickr
• (Spanish) Article about Pulqui I restoration and history, La Nacion newspaper, 2001-10-08 (retrieved 2014-05-16)