ENAER (Empresa Nacional de Aeronáutica de Chile, "National Aeronautical Company of Chile") is a Chilean aircraft manufacturer.
History
The origins of ENAER can be traced back to 1930, when the Chilean Air Force formed a dedicated maintenance wing, the Maestranza Central de Aviación (Central Aviation Workshop). During 1980, the Chilean Air Force established an aircraft manufacturing arm, IndAer. During the early 1980s, an agreement with Piper Aircraft saw IndAer begin the local assembly of the firm's PA-28 Dakotas for the Chilean Air Force. Around the same period, it also started building the ENAER T-35 Pillán, a military light trainer, which was developed for manufacture in Chile by Piper, based on a PA-32R fuselage with a new center-section and wing stressed for aerobatics. The first production aircraft was delivered by ENAER to the Chilean Air Force Air Academy in August 1985.[1]
On 16 March 1984, IndAer was reorganised as a state-owned company separate to the Chilean Air force, named ENAER (Empresa Nacional de Aeronáutica de Chile, "National Aeronautical Company of Chile").[2][3]