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The I.Ae. 16 "El Gaucho" is a nine-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engine, with a power of about 450 hp (336 kW), designed by the Instituto Aerotécnico (I.Ae.) de la República Argentina in 1943.
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Design and development
The goal was to design an engine in the intermediate power range to equip general purpose aircraft, both civilian and military, that would be built by the Fábrica Militar de Aviones (F.M.A.). Due to the difficulty of importing materials because of World War II, it was designed to use only materials that could be produced in Argentina.
It was based on the Wright/Continental J-6 R-975 "Whirlwind 9" engine with a displacement of 15.9 liters and in the 300 to 390 hp (224 to 291 kW) power range.
The Fábrica de Motores y Automotores developed a version of the Whirlwind using up-to-date technologies that allowed it to provide a power of 450 hp (336 kW).
Production
There were a number of problems caused by the lack of experience, materials and tools, including difficulties in creating high quality metals with the required thermodynamic performance.
Some 300 units were produced.