I.Ae. 30 Ñancú
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| I.Ae. 30 "Ñancú" | |
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 The I.Ae. 30 prototype in 1948 |
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| Type | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Fabrica Militar de Aviones (FMA) |
| Designed by | Cesare Pallavicino |
| Maiden flight | 17 July 1948 |
| Retired | 1948 |
| Status | Cancelled |
| Primary user | the Fuerza Aérea Argentina (intended) |
| Number built | 1 prototype completed (2 others under construction) |
The I.Ae. 30 "Ñancú" was an Argentinean twin-engined combat aircraft designed by the "Instituto Aerotecnico" (AeroTechnical Institute) in the late 1940s, similar to the de Havilland Hornet.
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[edit] Design and development
The I.Ae. 30 "Ñancú", named after an indigenous eagle of Patagonia, was designed by Italian engineer Cesare Pallavecino, who had come to Argentina in 1946. Pallavecino led a team of Argentine technicians and engineers in developing the concept of a high-speed escort fighter, intended to be operated in conjunction with the Avro Lincoln bombers used in the Fuerza Aérea Argentina.
The I.Ae. 30 had a metal structure, its powerplants consisted of two Rolls-Royce Merlin 604 inline engines, each developing 1,800 hp at 3,000 RPM, and four-bladed propellers. The armament would consist of six 20 mm Oerlikon automatic cannons mounted in the nose, although later plans called for 20 mm Hispano-Suiza cannons as well as a 250 kg bomb under the fuselage and two batteries of five 83 mm rockets fitted underneath the wings. Nevertheless, the prototypes were unarmed.
By the end of 1947, a contract was received for the first of three projected prototypes. On 9 June 1948 the first prototype was ready for ground tests and on 17 July 1948, the I.Ae. 30 took to the air for the first time, piloted by Captain Edmundo Osvaldo Weiss.
[edit] Testing and evaluation
The test results proved that the aircraft possessed good flying characteristics as well as meeting performance specifications. During a cross country flight, from Córdoba to Buenos Aires, the Ñancú reached a level speed of 780 km/h, setting a new piston engined speed record in South America, an achievement that has not been surpassed. Although the prototype was achieving design goals, the Fuerza Aérea Argentina was already considering the I.Ae. 27 Pulqui I as their future fighter program.
With official interest diminishing, in early 1949, the sole flying prototype was badly damaged in a landing accident when test pilot Carlos Fermín Bergaglio misjudged a landing and crashed. Although the pilot was uninjured and the aircraft could have been repaired, the Fabrica Militar de Aviones made a decision to abandon the project with the wrecked prototype, as well as the two unfinished prototypes still at the factory, being scrapped.
[edit] Specifications (I.Ae. 30)
This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them.Data from {name of first source}
General characteristics
- Crew: one, pilot
- Length: 11.52 m (37 ft 9 in)
- Wingspan: 15 m (49 ft 2 in)
- Height: 5.16 m (16 ft 11 in)
- Wing area: 35.32 m² (380.04 ft²)
- Empty weight: 6,208 kg (13,657 lb)
- Loaded weight: 7,600 kg (16,720 lb)
- Powerplant: 2× Rolls-Royce Merlin 604 inline engines, 1342 kW (1,800 hp) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 740 km/h (400 knots, 456 mph) at 6,400 m (20,990 ft)
- Cruise speed: 500 km/h (270 knots, 308 mph)
- Range: 2,700 km (1,458 nm, 1,665 mi)
- Service ceiling 8,000 m (26,240 ft)
- Wing loading: 215 kg/m² (43.96 lb/ft²)
- Power/mass: 2.11 kg/hp ()
- Endurance: 5 hrs 25 min
Armament
- 6 × 20 mm fixed forward machine guns
- 1 × 250 kg bomb (under fuselage)
- 10 × rockets (under wings)
[edit] References
- Article on the 50th anniversary of the "Fabrica Militar de Aviones" listing all the aircraft developed and manufactured there since 1927, Aerospacio, Buenos Aires, 1977. (Spanish)
- Article online on the 75th anniversary of the "Fabrica Militar de Aviones", Aerospacio, Buenos Aires, 2002. (Spanish)
- I.Ae. 30 Ñancú in Spanish with translation
[edit] External links
- Development and Specifications (Spanish)
[edit] See also
Comparable aircraft De Havilland Hornet
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