construction. The unswept cantilever wings have 7 degrees of dihedral on the outer panels and are fitted with slotted trailing-edge flaps. The IA-58 has a slender fuselage, with a tandem cockpit arrangement; the crew of two is seated under the upward opening clamshell canopy on Martin-Baker Mk 6AP6A zero/zero ejection seats and are provided with dual controls and good visibility, at least in the lateral and front quarters. The clean aerodynamic design allow the Pucará to reach relatively high speed, higher than the American OV-10 Bronco, another COIN aircraft. On the other hand, the IA 58 has no cargo bay inside the fuselage as requested for the American aircraft. Armour plating is fitted to protect the crew and engines from ground fire. The aircraft is powered by a pair of Turbomeca Astazou engines, driving sets of three-bladed Ratier-Forest 23LF propellers; the propellers are also capable of being used as air brakes. The Pucará was designed for operations from short, rough airstrips. The retractable tricycle landing gear, with a single nosewheel and twin mainwheels retracting into the engine nacelles, is fitted with low pressure tyres to suit operations on rough ground, while the undercarriage legs are tall to give good clearance for underslung weapons loads. Three JATO rockets can be fitted under the fuselage to allow extra short takeoffs. Fuel is fed from two fuselage tanks of combined capacity of and two self-sealing tanks of in the wings. The undercarriage, flaps and brakes are operated hydraulically, with no pneumatic systems. The spring suspension system is like the one used in the Junkers Ju 88, while the tail has a T configuration to improve take-off. Fixed armament of the Pucará is about comparable with WWII era aircraft, directly comparable with the layout used in the German Bf 110. It consists of two Hispano 804 20 mm cannons mounted under the cockpit with 270 rounds each and four 7.62 mm Browning FN machine guns mounted on the sides of the fuselage with 900 rounds each. Three hardpoints are fitted for carrying external stores single or in clusters (as example up to six bombs under the fuselage or two rockets under each wing) such as bombs, rockets or external fuel tanks, with one of capacity mounted under the fuselage and the remaining two, of capacity beneath the wings. Maximum external weapons load is . Onboard armaments are aimed by a simple reflector sight. Operational