En hoppa!!
For a brief moment in the early 1950s, Argentina stood at the forefront of aviation development. The Pulqui series of jet fighters was a result of a bold undertaking envisioned to push the Argentinean industry into a completely new era. Alas, it was not to materialize.
The name Pulqui (meaning Arrow in the local Mapuche language) was actually used for two different aircraft, which had absolutely nothing in common except for the jet propulsion. Here's a brief history of these two projects.
IAe.27 Pulqui I
Immediately after the end of World War II, the Argentinean government opted for a rapid expansion programme of its Air Force. Under the government initiative, the Fábrica Militar de Aviones in Córdoba (then called Instituto Aerotécnico) was encouraged to seek foreign contacts for the planned development of domestic jet aircraft.
In 1946, the factory commissioned the famous French aircraft designer Émile Dewoitine (the same who gave his name to the French Dewoitine factory, and escaped from France to South America due to the German invasion). Dewoitine designed the first ever Latin American jet fighter, the IAe27 Pulqui I. The development progressed quickly and the prototype aircraft took off for the first time on August 9th, 1947 in the hands of Captain Osvaldo Weiss.
The single IAe.27 Pulqui I was finished in overall brilliant red colour.
The aircraft carried no markings except for the Argentinean roundels in six positions
and a small fin flash.
It soon turned that Dewoitine's unquestionably wide experience with aircraft construction was not quite enough for the revolutionary new propulsion and the new aerodynamic challenges. His fighter was an all-metal tricycle-gear construction, but of conventional straight-wing design adorned by the unmistakably Dewoitine-shape fin that seemed a bit out of place on the high-speed airframe. Power was provided by a single rear-mounted Rolls-Royce Derwent engine.
During test flights the aircraft proved severely underpowered and had low overall performance. Coupled with complexity of maintenance and operation, the programme was abandoned and Dewoitine returned to Europe.
The Argentina's Air Force was not put off by this misfortune but continued to seek for another aircraft.
Alleen moet ik nu zelf weer een foto plaatsen...............
Trouwens........
Horten is na de oorlog in Argentinie verder gegaan. Ze zijn met deze zwever de Andes over gevlogen!!
Groeten
Eric