FMA I.Ae. 27 Pulqui I

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 Only one prototype was completed; unsatisfactory performance led to the aircraft being superseded by a later design.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 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
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 the 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 5th 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 ("Fuerza Aérea Argentina"), initially at Buenos Aires Aeroparque Airport and later at Morón, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Operators

 * Argentine Air Force
 * Argentine Air Force