Augusto Ulderico Cicaré (25 May 1937 – 26 January 2022) was an Argentinian inventor, engineer, and aviation designer. At the age of 11, still in 5th grade, he built his first four stroke engine that he used to drive a washing machine. In this same period he converted the engine of a car to use

propane gas Propane () is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as ...

instead of petrol. By age 15 he was constructing motorcycle engines.Augusto Cicaré
, Cicaré Helicopters. Accessed 28 October 2010. In 1958, despite having never seen an actual

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

before, and knowing little of helicopter design,Rotary Revolution
''Flightglobal.com'', 22 October 2000. Accessed 28 October 2010. Cicaré's first successful helicopter design, the CH-1, flew for the first time, with its designer as the test pilot, teaching himself how to fly in the process. The CH-1 was the first helicopter to have been designed and built in South America. By 1972, Cicaré was developing his third helicopter.Jane's 1971–1972, p. 3 In the late 1960s, Cicaré designed a V-4 engine for use in

DKW DKW (''Dampf-Kraft-Wagen'', en, "steam-powered car", also ''Deutsche Kinder-Wagen'' en, "German children's car". ''Das-Kleine-Wunder'', en, "the little wonder" or ''Des-Knaben-Wunsch'', en, "the boy's wish"- from when the company built to ...

automobiles, the engine being extensively tested by driver

Juan Manuel Fangio Juan Manuel Fangio (American Spanish: , ; 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995), nicknamed ''El Chueco'' ("the bowlegged" or "bandy legged one") or ''El Maestro'' ("The Master" or "The Teacher"), was an Argentine racing car driver. He dominated t ...

. A version of the engine for use in

motorsports Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

competition was also developed, but the closure of DKW resulted in the termination of the project. Cicaré continued to be active in aviation design, with some of his later work including the Cicaré CH-10 and CH-11

ultralight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

helicopters, and the development of the Cicaré SVH-3

flight simulator A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...

, which was declared Argentina's national invention of the year in 1998. He died in

Saladillo, Buenos Aires Saladillo is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the administrative centre for Saladillo Partido. Notable residents *Tamara Elisabet DeMarco Tamara Elisabet DeMarco (born August 6, 1988) is an Argentine female professional boxe ...

on 26 January 2022, at the age of 84.

Awards

A 1987 design for a fuel injection pump for

Diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

s resulted in Cicaré being awarded the Juan Manuel Fangio Prize, the highest award for Argentine inventors. In 1970, Cicaré was declared to be one of the ten most outstanding young men of Argentina, and in 1996 he was named as a Friend of the

Argentine Air Force "Argentine Wings" , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 August (anniversary) 1 May (Baptism of fire during the Falklands War) , equipment = 139 aircraft , equipment_label = , battles = * Operation Independence * Operation Soberanía * Falklan ...

. Cicaré also received an honorary Air and Space Engineer degree in 1997 from the Professional Council of Air and Space Engineering. In 1999, a

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

in Saladillo, Argentina was named in Cicaré's honour.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Taylor, John W.R. (ed.) ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1971–1972''. London: Sampson Low Marston & Co, 1972. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Cicare, Augusto 1937 births 2022 deaths Aircraft designers Argentine aerospace engineers Argentine inventors Cicaré People from Buenos Aires Province 20th-century Argentine engineers 21st-century engineers

Awards

See also

References