I.Ae. 30 Ñancú

infobox Aircraft
name = I.Ae. 30 "Ñancú"
type = Fighter
manufacturer = Fabrica Militar de Aviones (FMA)

---

caption = The I.Ae. 30 prototype in 1948
designer = Cesare Pallavicino
first flight = 17 July 1948
introduced =
retired = 1948
produced =
number built = 1 prototype completed (2 others under construction)
status = Cancelled
unit cost =
primary user = the Fuerza Aérea Argentina (intended)
more users =
developed from =
variants with their own articles =

The I.Ae. 30 "Ñancú" was an Argentine twin-engined combat aircraft designed by the "Instituto Aerotecnico" (AeroTechnical Institute) in the late 1940s, similar to the de Havilland Hornet.

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.

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.

pecifications (I.Ae. 30)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?= plane
jet or prop?= prop
ref={name of first source}
crew= one, pilot
capacity=
length main= 11.52 m
length alt= 37 ft 9 in
span main= 15 m
span alt= 49 ft 2 in
height main= 5.16 m
height alt= 16 ft 11 in
area main= 35.32 m²
area alt= 380.04 ft²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 6,208 kg
empty weight alt= 13,657 lb
loaded weight main= 7,600 kg
loaded weight alt= 16,720 lb
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=

engine (prop)=Rolls-Royce Merlin 604
type of prop= inline engines
number of props=2
power main= 1342 kW
power alt= 1,800 hp
power original=

max speed main= 740 km/h
max speed alt= 400 knots, 456 mph
max speed more=at 6,400 m (20,990 ft)
cruise speed main= 500 km/h
cruise speed alt= 270 knots, 308 mph
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
range main= 2,700 km
range alt= 1,458 nm, 1,665 mi
ceiling main= 8,000 m
ceiling alt= 26,240 ft
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main= 215 kg/m²
loading alt= 43.96 lb/ft²
thrust/weight=
power/mass main= 2.11 kg/hp
power/mass alt=
more performance=
* Endurance: 5 hrs 25 min
armament=
* 6 × 20 mm fixed forward machine guns
* 1 × 250 kg bomb (under fuselage)
* 10 × rockets (under wings)
avionics=

ee also

aircontent
related=

similar aircraft=
De Havilland Hornet

lists=

see also=

References

* Article on the 50th anniversary of the "Fabrica Militar de Aviones" listing all the aircraft developed and manufactured there since 1927.es icon Buenos Aires: Aerospacio, 1977.
* [http://www.aeroespacio.com.ar/site/anteriores/538-550/549/SITE/sumario549.htm Article online on the 75th Anniversary of the "Fabrica Militar de Aviones".] es icon Buenos Aires: Aerospacio, 2002.
* [http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/I.Ae._30_%25C3%2591anc%25C3%25BA&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=3&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3DI.Ae.%2B30%2B%2522%25C3%2591anc%25C3%25BA%2522%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26ie%3DUTF-8 I.Ae. 30 Ñancú in Spanish with translation]

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/bacosistemas01/IA30.html Development and Specifications] es icon