FMA IA 58 Pucará

what is it?

The FMA IA 58 Pucará (Quechua: Fortress) is an Argentine ground-attack and counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft manufactured by the Fábrica Militar de Aviones. It is a low-wing twin-turboprop all-metal monoplane with retractable landing gear, capable of operating from unprepared strips when operationally required. The type saw action during the Falklands War and the Sri Lankan Civil War.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 turboprops · 14.5 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 500 km/htop speed
• size 6,800 kgmax take-off weight
• built 160made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 57 years ago, in 1969.
• 🏎️Top speed is 3.8× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 14.5 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.1× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

turboprop: A jet-style turbine turning a propeller: efficient on short hops.

spec sheet

first flight

1969-08-20

introduced

1974

status

still flying

number built

160

role

counter-insurgency aircraft

origin

🇦🇷 Argentina

makers

Fábrica Argentina de Aviones

engines

2× Turbomeca Astazou XVIG / Astazou

length

14.3 m

wingspan

14.5 m

height

5.4 m

max take-off weight

6,800 kg

top speed

500 km/h

cruise speed

430 km/h

range

—

ceiling

10,000 m

wings

monoplane

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.