FMA I.Ae. 31

FMA I.Ae. 31 Colibrí
Type:	Trainer aircraft
Design country:	Argentina
Manufacturer:	Fábrica Militar de Aviones
First flight:	September 18, 1947
Number of pieces:	3 prototypes

The FMA I.Ae. 31 Colibrí was a trainer aircraft made by the Argentine manufacturer Fábrica Militar de Aviones .

history

The Colibrí was the first civil aircraft developed in Argentina after World War II . The development work of a team from the Instituto Aerotécnico under the direction of the French engineer Émile Dewoitine began in 1946. The aim was to design a lightweight, universally applicable training aircraft for the Argentine aviation clubs. The development was essentially based on the FMA Ae.C.3G . The prototype took off on its maiden flight on September 18, 1947. However, there was no series production.

construction

A Colibrí with a closed cockpit back

The machine was a two-seater low-wing aircraft with a closed tandem cockpit. There were two versions of the cockpit, either fully glazed or closed behind the rear seat. The fuselage consisted of a tubular steel construction and, like the wooden wings, was covered with fabric. The aircraft was powered by a Blackburn Cirrus Major 3 piston engine with 115 kW and had a fixed tail wheel landing gear. A design flaw in the tail that was recognized after the first flight was corrected from the second prototype. One machine was experimentally equipped with a De Havilland Gipsy engine.

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data
crew	2
length	7.95 m
span	10.37 m
height	1.90 m
Wing area	16 m²
Empty mass	635 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	916 kg
Cruising speed	210 km / h
Top speed	240 km / h
Service ceiling	6,500 m
Range	? km
Engines	1 × Blackburn Cirrus Major 3 piston engine with 115 kW

See also

• List of aircraft types

literature

• Taylor, Michael JH (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. P. 524.
• Bridgeman, Leonard. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1950-1951, p. 9c

Web links

Commons : FMA I.Ae. 31 Colibrí  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• AVIONES FABRICADOS Y PROYECTADOS DESDE 1943 HASTA LA REVOLUCIÓN LIBERTADORA ( Memento of January 5, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
• IAe.31 Colibri on airwar.ru (Russian), accessed May 25, 2016

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Data from airwar.ru (Russian), accessed on May 25, 2016