ENAER () (''Empresa Nacional de Aeronáutica de Chile'', "National Aeronautical Company of Chile") is a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

aircraft manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology industry. ...

History

The origins of ENAER can be traced back to 1930, when the

Chilean Air Force "With full speed to the stars" , colours = Indigo White , colours_label = , march = Alte Kameraden , mascot = , anniversaries = 21 March ...

formed a dedicated maintenance wing, the ''Maestranza Central de Aviación'' (Central Aviation Workshop). During 1980, the

Chilean Air Force "With full speed to the stars" , colours = Indigo White , colours_label = , march = Alte Kameraden , mascot = , anniversaries = 21 March ...

established an aircraft manufacturing arm, ''IndAer''. During the early 1980s, an agreement with

Piper Aircraft Piper Aircraft, Inc. is a manufacturer of general aviation aircraft, located at the Vero Beach Regional Airport in Vero Beach, Florida, United States and owned since 2009 by the Government of Brunei. Throughout much of the mid-to-late 20th centur ...

saw IndAer begin the local assembly of the firm's PA-28 Dakotas for the Chilean Air Force. Around the same period, it also started building the

ENAER T-35 Pillán ENAER T-35 Pillán (, Mapudungún: ''volcano'' or ''ancestral spirit'') is a Chilean propeller-driven basic trainer aircraft. The student and the instructor sit in tandem. Production ceased in 1991 after 7 years but restarted briefly in 1998. ...

, a military light trainer, which was developed for manufacture in Chile by Piper, based on a PA-32R fuselage with a new center-section and wing stressed for aerobatics. The first production aircraft was delivered by ENAER to the Chilean Air Force Air Academy in August 1985. On 16 March 1984, IndAer was reorganised as a state-owned company separate to the Chilean Air force, named ''ENAER'' (''Empresa Nacional de Aeronáutica de Chile'', "National Aeronautical Company of Chile"). The Chilean Air Force initially provided the company with

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

personnel Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...

and

resources Resource refers to all the materials available in our environment which are technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally sustainable and help us to satisfy our needs and wants. Resources can broadly be classified upon their a ...

, while one of the firm's prime responsibilities was to service the various aircraft types operated by the Chilean Air Force. During the 1980s, the Chilean Air Force acquired four

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

-built

CASA C-101 The CASA C-101 Aviojet is a low-wing single engine jet-powered advanced trainer and light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Spanish aircraft company Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA). The C-101 was developed in response to a ...

trainer aircraft, along with a

licensing agreement A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

for another eight to be assembled locally by ENAER. In Chilean service, the type is designated as the ''T-36 Halcón''. A follow-on agreement for a dedicated attack version of the C-101, which was locally designated as the ''A-36 Halcón'' ("Falcon"), was also ordered by Chile; only the prototype was manufactured in Spain, while the remaining 22 machines were assembled by ENAER. Modifications over the trainer model previously procured included an engine upgrade and increased fuel capacity.Hewson 2001, p. 36. During 1986, ENAER decided to embark on its first entirely indigenous aircraft. It was a two-seat, single-engined light aircraft suitable for use by

flying club A flying club or aero club is a not-for-profit, member-run organization that provides its members with affordable access to aircraft. Many clubs also provide flight training, flight planning facilities, pilot supplies and associated services, as ...

s as a

training aircraft A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristi ...

. As such, the project, initially known as the ''Avion Livano'' (light aircraft) and later known as the Ñamcú, was to be inexpensive, with a price of

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

70,000 claimed in 1991. The first prototype made its maiden flight in April 1989, with three more prototypes following, one of which had a fatal crash on 11 February 1992. After attempts to interest the Chilean Air Force in the Ñamcú failed, ENAER set up Euro-ENAER, a joint venture with the

Delft University of Technology Delft University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Delft), also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. As of 2022 it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among ...

and private Dutch investors, to

certify Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

the aircraft as airworthy in the Netherlands under European regulations; ENAER hoped to sell as many as 50 aircraft per year, at a price which had increased to US$100,000 per aircraft. By 1998, it was planned to assemble a modified version of the aircraft, powered by a Textron Lycoming O-320-D2A engine, in a new factory in the Netherlands. Certification was expected by late that year, while the unit price had again risen to $120,000. In early 1999, Euro-ENAER blamed poor weather and difficulties with the

Joint Aviation Authorities The Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) was an associated body of the European Civil Aviation Conference representing the civil aviation regulatory authorities of a number of European States who had agreed to co-operate in developing and implementin ...

for certification delays, while the unit price rose yet again to US$160,000, although the company was forecasting annual sales of 50 aircraft per year in Europe and 200 per year in America. Euro-ENAER certified the aircraft in 1992, but the company announced that additional funding was needed to start production. Financing could not be found, however, thus Euro-ENAER was declared bankrupt later that year.

Aircraft

* Maestranza Central de Aviacion HF XX-02 * A-36 Halcón *

T-35 Pillán The T-35 was a Soviet Union, Soviet multi-gun turret, turreted heavy tank of the interwar period and early Second World War that saw limited production and service with the Red Army. Often called a land battleship, it was the only five-turreted ...

* ENAER Elkan *

ENAER Pantera The Dassault Mirage 5 is a French supersonic attack aircraft designed by Dassault Aviation during the 1960s and manufactured in France and a number of other countries. It was derived from Dassault's popular Mirage III fighter and spawned several ...

ENAER Ñamcú The ENAER ECH-02 Ñamcú was a single-engine, two-seat, light aircraft, designed and built by the Chilean manufacturer ENAER. A first prototype flew in 1989, and while the joint venture company Euro-ENAER was set up to build the aircraft in th ...

* ENAER Eaglet

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * Hewson, Robert. "The Vital Guide to Military Aircraft." Airlife, 2001. . * * * * *

External links

ENAER
{{Authority control Aircraft manufacturers of Chile Defence companies of Chile 1930 establishments in Chile Manufacturing companies based in Santiago Chilean brands Chilean companies established in 1984