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The IAR-16 fighter
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An ARR comission studied the aircraft, but since its capabilities weren't equal even to those of the IAR-15, it wasn't a surprise that they rejected it. No other planes of tis type were built except for the prototype. It was used on the 16th of July, 1935 by Lt. Alexandru Papana to set a new national altitude record of 11631 meters, altitude which he reached in 47 minutes. |
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The IAR-16 fighter
Technical data for the IAR-16
Wingspan
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11.7 meters
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Wing area
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20.3 square meters
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Length
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7.37 meters
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Height
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2.8 meters
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Weight ( empty )
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1430 kg
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Weight ( loaded )
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1650 kg
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Maximum speed at 4000 meters
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342 km/h
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Climbs to 5000 meters
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6 minutes and 30 seconds
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Range
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600 km
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Maximum operational ceiling
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10000 meters
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Engine
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Bristol Mercury IV S2 rated at 560 HP
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Armament
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2 Vickers 7.7 mm machine guns mounted in the wings
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Crew
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1
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Numbers produced
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1
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With the IAR-16 the serie of fighter projects came to a temporary end. Although none of them ( apart from the IAR-14 ) entered mass-production, a lot valuable experience was gained by Romanian engineers. The lessons learned were put to too good use five years later, when in the morning of April the 20th, 1939, the prototype of the famous IAR-80 took to the skies for the first time... |