The vice president of the Argentine Aircraft Factory (Fadea), Franco Giuggioloni, said that the main objective of the state company is to “diversify the proposal” of work, in order to capture more income.
Within this framework, the manager was “optimistic” regarding the authorization that they hope to obtain from the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FFA), which would allow them to expand their radius of action.
“Today Fadea has an agreement with the company Etihad Engineering, through which we carry out some maintenance work for the Latam company on its Airbus 320 aircraft. We also carry out work for Flybondi and paint Aerolineas Argentinas aircraft,” Giuggioloni explained to Télam.
“We must strengthen our basic business, but today diversifying with external clients is the basis of our growth”Franco Giuggioloni-Vice President of the Argentine Aircraft Factory
He clarified, however, that “85 percent of the company’s turnover is from the Argentine Air Force, which is our main client, both in terms of aircraft maintenance and conversion, as well as in terms of manufacturing of new aircraft.
“We must strengthen our basic business, but today, diversifying with external clients is the basis of our growth,” remarked the vice president of the state company.
Regarding the works for the Air Force, he highlighted those recently carried out in “the recovery of the C-130 Hercules, the IA 63 Pampa advanced instruction aircraft, the IA 100B primary/basic instruction aircraft prototype, the modernization of avionics and assembly of radar pods (modules) and camera units IA 58 Pucará Ov Fénix, the recovery of Orion aircraft and the Beechcraft TC Huron aircraft”, among others.
“Historically, it has been Fadea who has solved the need for training aircraft for the FAA,” said Giuggioloni, and in that line, he pointed out that “the construction of the IA-100, as an elementary-primary military trainer, complements the current product star of the mythical Cordovan factory, the IA-63 Pampa III”.
“The training aircraft sector is a niche among aeronautical manufacturers,” Giuggioloni explained, “and for the initial stages of training pilots, both civilian and military, the design of the aircraft is quite specific for safety and security reasons. training of new aviators”.
“These planes are designed for flight situations where, for example, errors can be allowed at all stages without catastrophic results,” he added.
“The construction of the IA-100, as an elementary-primary military trainer, complements the current flagship product of the mythical Cordovan factory, the IA-63 Pampa III” Franco Giuggioloni-Vice President of the Argentine Aircraft Factory
“Today – he said – there is no trainer in Latin America that has started from a military requirement, rather they are airplanes adapted from civil aircraft.”
The new aircraft “will be an elementary-primary trainer designed for the initial training and first flight hours of a military pilot. Then, those who continue their training path (syllabus, in technical jargon) to be fighter pilots will go to an advanced training aircraft, such as the IA-63 Pampa III, until they manage to man the fighter-bomber planes with which they will serve in the Air Force,” he said.
The IA-100 is conceived as a three-seater aircraft, with a 260 HP piston engine, entirely made of composite material and certified FAR 23 in the aerobatic category.
Fadea’s vice president was “optimistic” regarding the authorization they hope to obtain from the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FFA), which would allow them to expand their radius of action
He explained that “the structure of the IA-100 will be built with the most modern technology in aeronautical engineering, which simplifies the manufacturing processes of complex structures and results in lower costs.”
Guggioloni participates in the MRO Latin America Congress, which brings together leaders from the aeronautical maintenance areas, organized by Aviation Week and of which Aerolíneas Argentinas is the host sponsor and takes place in a hotel in the Puerto Madero area.
