The I.A. 50 Guaraní II is an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

utility aircraft A utility aircraft is a general-purpose light aircraft, light airplane or helicopter, usually used for transporting people, freight or other supplies, but is also used for other duties when more specialized aircraft are not required or available. ...

designed at the DINFIA (successor to the "Instituto Aerotecnico" - AeroTechnical Institute) in the early 1960s.

Design and development

In the early 1960s, the Argentine state aviation conglomerate, DINFIA, realised that its IA 35 Huanquero twin-

piston engine A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common featu ...

d light transport was becoming outdated, and it was decided to develop a

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...

-engined derivative. While of similar layout to the Huanquero, with both aircraft being twin-engined low-wing

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

of all metal construction with a

twin tail A twin tail is a specific type of vertical stabilizer arrangement found on the empennage of some aircraft. Two vertical stabilizers—often smaller on their own than a single conventional tail would be—are mounted at the outside of the aircra ...

, the new aircraft, the Guaraní, shared only 20% of the structure of the Huanquero. It was powered by two

Turbomeca Bastan The Turbomeca Bastan was a turboprop engine developed in France in 1957. Early models developed 650 shp (485 kW), but by 1965 this had been increased to 1,048 shp (780 kW) with the Bastan VII. Flight tests of some Bastan models were ca ...

III engines each rated at .Magnusson 2010, p. 5.Taylor 1962, pp. 4–5. It first flew on 6 February 1962.Taylor 1965, p.3. The aircraft was further developed as the Guaruani II; the main difference being a single swept

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

and a shortened rear

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

. It also used more powerful () Bastan VIA engines. The fuselage was semi-

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

with a squared cross-section, having unswept wings and swept tailplanes. The prototype Guaraní was rebuilt to this standard and flew in this form on 26 April 1963.Magnusson 2010, p. 6.

Operational history

In June 1965 the Guarani II prototype (serial number TX-01) was exhibited and flown at the

Paris Air Show The Paris Air Show (french: Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourget, Salon du Bourget) is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France. Organized by the French ...

at Le Bourget Airport,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

). TX-01 was later flown to the CEV (“Centre d’Essays en Vol”, Air Test Centre) at

Istres Istres (; Occitan: Istre) is a commune in southern France, some 60 km (38 mi) northwest of Marseille. It is in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture. Location Istr ...

, for technical evaluation, where it was tested for a total of 200 flying hours. It was flown back to the FMA, Argentina in February 1966, being the first

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

n-built aircraft to fly across the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. The last flying example was retired on 7 January 2007 at the II Brigada Aérea (IInd Air Brigade), at Paraná, Entre Rios, Argentina and made its last flight to the National Aeronautics Museum ("Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica") 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 ...

(''Fuerza Aérea Argentina''), at

Morón, Buenos Aires Morón () is a city in the Argentine province of Buenos Aires, capital of the Morón ''partido'', located in the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area, at . Located 20 km (13 mi) west of Downtown Buenos Aires, Morón is easily reac ...

, Argentina where it was placed on display.Magnusson 2010, p. 12.

Operators

Argentine Federal Police The Argentine Federal Police ( es, Policía Federal Argentina or PFA) is the national civil police force of the Argentine federal government. The PFA has detachments throughout the country. Until January 1, 2017, it also acted as the local la ...

- One operated 1970–1981.Rivas 2020, p. 80. *

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the ...

Argentine Naval Aviation ) Gulf War , anniversaries = , decorations = , battle_honours = , commander1 = President , commander1_label = Commander-in-Chief , commander2 ...

* ''

Servicio Penitenciario Federal The Argentine Federal Penitentiary Service (Spanish: Servicio Penitenciario Federal Argentino, SPF) is an Argentine federal agency responsible for the administration of the national prison system. The legal unification of the prison system occurre ...

'' * ''Líneas Aéreas Provinciales de Entre Ríos'' * Government of Córdoba * Government of

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...

* Ministry of National Welfare

Surviving aircraft

* Last operational G-II, retired in 2006, at the

Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica de Argentina The National Aeronautics Museum "Brigadier Edmundo Civati Bernasconi" ( es, Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica) is an Argentine museum located in the city of Morón, Buenos Aires. Established in 1960, the museum is dedicated to the history of aviati ...

("National Aeronautics Museum")

Specifications (IA 50)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography
Article on the 50th anniversary of the "Fabrica Militar de Aviones"
- listing all the aircraft developed and manufactured there since 1927, ''Aerospacio'', Buenos Aires, 1977. (in Spanish) * * * * *

External links

Individual aircraft histories

Newspaper article about the G-II

FMA IA 50 Guaraní II at Flickr

FMA IA 50 Guaraní II at Flickr
{{DEFAULTSORT:FMA IA 50 Guarani II 1960s Argentine military transport aircraft IA 50 Aircraft first flown in 1963 Low-wing aircraft Twin-turboprop tractor aircraft