I.Ae. 41 Urubú

History

In 1951 some airclubs requested from the Department of Aeronautics (Secretaría de Aeronáutica) that a side-by-side two-seater sports glider should be built. Its development was assigned to the Instituto Aerotécnico (I.Ae.), in Cordoba. The design team was led by Professor Reimar Horten, who was a pioneer in the design of tailless flying wing planes. His project H.XVc was submitted to the Department of Aeronautics, and was assigned the denomination I.Ae.41 "Urubú" (meaning "owl" in mapudungun). Production at the FMA was limited to five planes, and the first flight was in 1953.

In September 1956, after a proposal from the "Dirección de Fomento de la Aviación Civil" (Civil Aviation Directorate), a crossing of the Andes Mountain Range ("Cordillera de los Andes") with sailplanes was attempted. The gliders chosen were the I.Ae.41 Urubú, towed by a Morane-Saulnier, and a Slingsby Sky glider, towed by a Stearman. Pilots Hans Scheidhauer (Urubú) and Claudio Dori (Sky) flew from San Carlos de Bariloche (Argentina) to Paraje Ensenada (Chile). The flight lasted three hours, crossing over: Cerro Otto, Cerro Catedral, the Tristeza branch of Nahuel Huapi lake, Puerto Blest, Cerro Tornador, Laguna Fría, Lanín Volcano, Cerro El Puntiagudo and Cerro Osorno.

Description

The I.Ae 41 was a wooden aircraft, similar in general to the preceding I.Ae. 34 Clen Antú but with a spacious twin-seat side-by-side cockpit. Its design incorporated lessons learnt from its predecessor and it had improved aerodynamics, showing better handling in turbulent conditions. Its tandem landing gear had more efficient shock absorbers.

Surviving aircraft

A surviving aircraft has been restored, and is displayed at the Argentine Air Force’s Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica de Argentina, located at Morón Airport.

Specifications (I.Ae. 41)

|prime units?=met General characteristics

|max takeoff weight kg=410 |max takeoff weight lb= |max takeoff weight note=

• Leading edge sweepback: 26.6
• Aerofoil thickness: 18% Powerplant -- |eng1 kn-ab= |eng1 lbf-ab=

|eng2 kn-ab= |eng2 lbf-ab=

|eng3 kn-ab= |eng3 lbf-ab=

Performance

|never exceed speed kmh=200 |never exceed speed mph= |never exceed speed kts= |never exceed speed note=

• Towing speed: 51 km/h
• Landing speed: 51 km/h |minimum control speed kmh= |minimum control speed mph= |minimum control speed kts= |minimum control speed note= |wing loading kg/m2=15.2 |wing loading lb/sqft= |disk loading kg/m2= |disk loading lb/sqft= |fuel consumption kg/km= |fuel consumption lb/mi= |power/mass= |thrust/weight=

Armament

specific parameters, remove this parameter--

References

;Notes ;Bibliography

• Burzaco, Ricardo. "Las Alas de Perón, Aeronáutica Argentina 1945/1960", 1995, Editorial Da Vinci.

References

1. Horten, Reimar. (1985). "Nürflugel". H. Wieshaupt Verlag.