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History

In May 28 1946 arrives the French engineer Emile Dewoitine to Argentina, which was contracted in June 26 1946 by the Aeronautics Secretary, and along with Argentine engineers and technicians, among them Commander J.I. San Martin (director of the Technical Institute of Aviation), E. Cardeilhac, Norberto Morchio and Humberto Riccciardi, conformed the Special Projects Division Nr.1, dedicated to the investigation and development of high speed airplanes.

After beginning in this same year the design of a turbojet fighter, beginning to make the first pieces of the machine as of September, and preceded by a wood scale model in 1:1 scale, which would be proven in the aerodynamic tunnel of the Military Factory of Airplanes the 9 of August of 1947; taking off from one of the runways of the Airborne Troops School in Cordoba, the prototype of the I.Ae. 27 Pulqui, flown by First Lieutenant Edmundo Weiss, carries out a 10 minutes flight, becoming the Argentine Republic the 9^th. country in having a jet aircraft of their own conception. Although certain details of the airplane, as the design of the rudder and the advanced position of the turbine, denoted that the Pulqui was the modification of a piston driven machine, but indeed the Dewoitine 560, the airplane marked the beginning in the country of the studies of designs driven by reactor. After the first flight tests without great disadvantages, the width was reduced in 75 centimeters with the purpose of increasing the speed, minor to the considered one, since had been obtained a maximum velocity of 720 Km/h in contrast to the 850 km/h estimated. 

Its life in service was short due to the knowledge of novel scientific information and the arrival of well known foreign technicians (Kurt Tank and Reinmar Horten, among others), which brought like consequence the creation of the I.Ae.33 Pulqui II, that widely surpassed the Pulqui I. Soon of the first flight, in 22 September 1947, Weiss takes it in flight until Buenos Aires, the following day flying on Moron (Buenos Aires Province) and Buenos Aires city, displaying it in flight to the President of the Nation, soon being displayed to the public in Buenos Aires city. Finished the exhibition it returns flown by Weiss from Moron the 9 and 10 December 1947. The 8 of October of  1948 the official presentation of the airplane was made, along with the I. Ae.30 Nancu and the Vickers Viking presidential airplane, flown by Lieutenant Luis Valoni, test pilot of the IAME. Later was flown occasionally by other pilots until March of 1956, date in which retires of service.

Technical Description

•  Wing: Cantilever type of low implantation, totally metallic and trapezial shape, with elliptical tips (which was being reduced the width was left rectum with the tips round), practically did not have arrow shape. Of  IAe 242-1 profile, laminar flow and monocoque. It tolerates forces of up 16 G. The 1200 Lts. of fuel went stored exclusively in the wing.  

• Flaps: Totally metallics and balanced statically and dynamically. Of fin of curvature with groove movement differential in the landing type, that is a movable surface acted altogether with the ailerons, obtaining a moveable surface that included all the wing width. They were of hydraulic drive.

•  Stabilizer: Integrated with the fuselage, did not have compensator in the elevator, the same one was varied in flight from the cabin driving the incidence regulator.

•  Rudder: Totally metallic and balanced statically and dynamically. The command were by rigid bars.

•  Fuselage: Metallic, type semimonocoque of elliptical section. The access to the turbine is by disassembling the panels who surround it, and to extract it the fuselage was divided in two parts in the line of the large stone bench of the engine.

•  Cabin: The cockpit was divided in 3 parts, being the central movable backwards. The seat is fixed, anticipating the possibility of placing an ejection one.

•  Undercarriage: Retractable tricycle, the tires of the main undercarriage were Dunlop 27x200, and the forward was Dunlop 19x600. The retraction mechanism was hydraulic and the brakes was pneumatic. In case of emergency the complete undercarriage could be ejected of the machine by a pneumatic system.

•  Engine: Rolls Royce Derwent 5 of centrifugal flow, with a maximum rating of 1.632 kg.

•  Armament: It did not have. It was contemplated to arm it with four 20 mm. cannons, bombs and rockets.

Paint scheme

Was painted entirely in red. When making the inaugural flight took the light blue and white national insignia in both sides of the fuselage solely. When the wing width was reduced the insignias in the upper and lower wings was added. In both sides of the rudder was a light blue and white flag with the sun in yellow. Later to the year 1947 is added to him, in frontward of the fuselage insignia, the letters “IAe-27”. and a yellow circle with a “P” (for “Prototype”) black letter in their interior. This same one was repeated under the flags located in the rudder. In the ´60 decade, when was transferring to the National Aeronautical Museum, the inscriptions before mentioned were painted in white, and the national insignia of the fuselage went ahead; behind their and near the stabilizer, downwards, the letters “IAe-27” was painted. Underneath the central part of the cockpit was painted the letters “Pulqui I”. Later was repainted in a darkest red, and also a double white strip that went from the nose to the exhaust nozzle. Finally was repainted in a scheme very near to the original one.

General characteristics