Augusto Ulderico Cicaré (25 May 1937 – 26 January 2022) was an Argentine inventor, engineer, and aviation designer. At the age of 11, still in 5th grade, he built his first four stroke engine that he used to drive a washing machine. In this same period he converted the engine of a car to use

propane gas Propane () is a three-carbon chain alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but becomes liquid when compressed for transportation and storage. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum ref ...

instead of petrol. By age 15 he was constructing motorcycle engines.Augusto Cicaré
, Cicaré Helicopters. Accessed 28 October 2010. In 1958, despite having never seen an actual

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

before, and knowing little of helicopter design,Rotary Revolution
''Flightglobal.com'', 22 October 2000. Accessed 28 October 2010. Cicaré's first successful helicopter design, the CH-1, flew for the first time, with its designer as the test pilot, teaching himself how to fly in the process. The CH-1 was the first helicopter to have been designed and built in South America. By 1972, Cicaré was developing his third helicopter.Jane's 1971–1972, p. 3 In the late 1960s, Cicaré designed a V-4 engine for use in

DKW DKW (''Dampfkraftwagen'', – the same initials later also used for ''Des Knaben Wunsch'', ; ''Das Kleine Wunder'', and ''Deutsche Kinderwagen'', ) was a German car- and motorcycle-marque. DKW was one of the four companies that formed Auto U ...

automobiles, the engine being extensively tested by driver

Juan Manuel Fangio Juan Manuel Fangio (, ; 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995) was an Argentine racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "el Chueco" and "el Maestro", Fangio won five Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles and—at the ti ...

. A version of the engine for use in

motorsports Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the po ...

competition was also developed, but the closure of DKW resulted in the termination of the project. Cicaré continued to be active in aviation design, with some of his later work including the Cicaré CH-10 and CH-11

ultralight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with aile ...

helicopters, and the development of the

Cicaré SVH-3 Cicaré S.A. (originally Cicaré Aeronáutica S.A. and later Cicaré Helicópteros S.A.) is an Argentine helicopter manufacturer founded by Augusto Cicaré in Saladillo, Buenos Aires Province in the 1970s to develop aircraft of his own design. A ...

flight simulator A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...

, which was declared Argentina's national invention of the year in 1998. He died in

Saladillo, Buenos Aires Saladillo is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the administrative centre An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a ...

on 26 January 2022, at the age of 84.

Awards

A 1987 design for a fuel injection pump for

Diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s resulted in Cicaré being awarded the Juan Manuel Fangio Prize, the highest award for Argentine inventors. In 1970, Cicaré was declared to be one of the ten most outstanding young men of Argentina, and in 1996 he was named as a Friend of the

Argentine Air Force The Argentine Air Force (, or simply ''FAA'') is the air force of Argentina and one of three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic. In 2018, it had 13,837 military and 6,900 civilian personnel. FAA commander in chief is Brigadie ...

. Cicaré also received an honorary Air and Space Engineer degree in 1997 from the

Professional Council of Air and Space Engineering A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

. In 1999, a

roundabout A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...

in Saladillo, Argentina was named in Cicaré's honour.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Taylor, John W.R. (ed.) ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1971–1972''. London: Sampson Low Marston & Co, 1972. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Cicare, Augusto 1937 births 2022 deaths Aircraft designers Argentine aerospace engineers Argentine inventors Cicaré People from Buenos Aires Province 20th-century Argentine engineers 21st-century Argentine engineers

Awards

See also

References