The slightly less well known

[Angry Turnip]

CAC Winjeel

The CAC CA-25 Winjeel is a three-seat training aircraft from the 1950`s.

It was developed by CAC as a contender to RAAF technical requirement No.AC.77 issued in 1948. Designed to replace both the Tiger Moth and the CAC Wirraway, the first two prototype CA-22 aircraft were flown in February 1951.However, it proved a very stable aircraft making it almost impossible to spin, and with this being a required part of pilot training the tail had to be redesigned. The aircraft looks similar in many ways to the more powerful UK Percival Provost

The first CA-25 aircraft flew in February 1955, and deliveries began that September.The first Winjeel entered service with No. 1 Basic Flying Training School (1 BFTS) at Uranquinty.The last aircraft of 62 completed was delivered in August 1957. In most of its service life, the Winjeel was used as a basic trainer at RAAF Base Point Cook in Victoria, after 1 BFTS was transferred there in 1958. The Winjeel remained in service with the RAAF as a basic trainer until 1968, when the Macchi MB-326 replaced it in this role. The failure of the all jet concept ensured that the Winjeel was retained in the training role until 1975,when it was replaced by the New Zealand-built PAC CT/4A Airtrainer.

A few Winjeels were used in the Forward Air Control (FAC) role. Initially operated by No. 4 Flight, they were equipped with smoke bombs for target marking. By 1994 there were 4 in service with No. 76 Squadron but later that year they were replaced by the Pilatus PC-9 and subsequently retired. Some examples of the aircraft remain in flying condition in private ownership as well as museum displays around Australia.

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[Angry Turnip]

CAC Sabre

The CAC Sabre, or Avon Sabre or CA-27, is an Australian version of the North American Aviation F-86F Sabre fighter.

In 1951, CAC purchased a licence to build the F-86F Sabre. It was decided that the CA-27 would be powered by a licence-built version of the Rolls-Royce Avon R.A.7, rather than the GE J47.
In theory, the Avon was capable of more than double the maximum thrust and double the thrust-to-weight ratio of the US engine. This required a re-design of the fuselage, due to the Avon`s dimensions and lighter weight. Over 60 percent of the fuselage was altered and there was a 25 percent increase in the air intake size. Another big change was replacing the F-86F's six machine guns with two 30mm ADEN cannon, other changes were also made to the cockpit, and to provide an increase in fuel load.

The prototype ( CA-26 Sabre) first flew on 3 August 1953. Production aircraft were designated the CA-27 Sabre and first deliveries to the RAAF began in 1954. The first batch of aircraft were powered by the Avon 20 engine and were designated the Sabre Mk 30. Between 1957 and 1958 this batch had the wing slats removed and were redesignated Sabre Mk 31. These Sabres were supplemented by 20 new-build aircraft. The last batch were designated Sabre Mk 32 and used the Avon 26 engine, of which 69 were built up to 1961.

The RAAF operated the CA-27 from 1954 to 1971. From 1958 to 1960, CAC Sabres comprising 3 Sqn and 77 Sqn, undertook several ground attack sorties against communist insurgents during the Malayan Emergency. They remained in Malaysia at RMAF Butterworth (RAAF Butterworth). Armed with Sidewinder missiles, the Sabres were responsible for regional air defence during the Konfrontasi between Indonesia and Malaysia from 1963 until 1966.Between October and December 1965, a detachment of six Sabres, initially from 77 Sqn and later from 3 Sqn, was based at Labuan to conduct combat patrols over the Indonesian–Malaysian border on Borneo.

The last Sabres in Australian service, operated by No. 5 Operational Training Unit RAAF (5 OTU), were retired in July 1971.Former RAAF CAC Sabres were operated by the Royal Malaysian Air Force between 1969 and 1972. Due to better relations with Indonesia, 23 CAC Sabres were donated to the Indonesian Air Force  between 1973 and 1975, five were former Malaysian aircraft.

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[Angry Turnip]

Lasco Lascoter

The Lasco Lascoter was a 1920s 6-seat passenger and mail carrier aircraft. Just one example was built.

It was a high-wing monoplane with a steel tube structure, featuring a tailwheel undercarriage and an enclosed cabin for passengers and the pilot. It first flew on 25 May 1929.It was powered by a Armstrong Siddeley Puma piston engine of 240 hp  It received its Certificate of Airworthiness on 22 July 1929 and was put into service with Australian Aerial Services, an airline owned by Lasco, and used on an air mail route between Queensland and Daly Waters, Northern Territory. The Lascoter was used by Australian Aerial Services and its successors until being withdrawn from use in 1938 and later scrapped during World War II.

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[Angry Turnip]

Lasco Lascondor

The Lasco Lascondor was a 1930s Australian 8-seat passenger and mail carrier aircraft. It is claimed to be the first multi-engined aircraft designed and built in the Southern Hemisphere.

Development began in June 1928, concurrently with the company's Lascoter; the aircraft had 90% commonality of structural parts. It was a high-wing monoplane with a tubular steel structure, featuring a tailwheel undercarriage and a fully enclosed cabin for the passengers and the pilot. The main change was the three 150hp Armstrong Siddeley Mongoose engines instead of the Lascoter's single more powerful Siddeley Puma engine.
The Lascondor also had greater fuel capacity and a slightly longer fuselage with a larger cabin to accommodate an extra row of seats,also the Lascondor had only one set of flying controls to allow for another passenger seat, giving an overall capacity of seven passengers and one pilot.

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[Angry Turnip]

Transavia PL-12 Airtruk

The Transavia PL-12 Airtruk is a single-engine agricultural aircraft.

The Airtruk is a shoulder-wing strut braced aircraft built with an all-metal construction. The cockpit is mounted above a tractor-located opposed-cylinder air-cooled engine and stumpy fuselage with rear door. The engine cowling, rear fuselage and top decking are of fibreglass. It has a tricycle undercarriage, the main units of which are carried on the lower wings. It has twin tail booms with two unconnected tails. Its first flight was on 22 April 1965, and was certified on 10 February 1966. It was powered by 300 hp Rolls Royce Continental IO-520-D engine

It has a 1 tonne capacity hopper and is able to ferry two passengers. Other versions can be used as cargo, ambulance or aerial survey aircraft, and carry one passenger in the top deck and four in the lower deck.
In July 1978 an improved model, the T-300 Skyfarmer made it`s first flight, which was powered by a Textron Lycoming IO-540-engine. This was followed in 1981 by the T-300A with improved aerodynamics. Transavia ceased production of the T-300 in 1985.

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[Angry Turnip]

Tugan Gannet

The Tugan LJW7 Gannet,was a small twin-engined airliner from the 1930`s.

The Gannet was a strut-braced, high-wing monoplane, with twin de Havilland Gipsy Six 200 hp engines mounted on the wings. The undercarriage was a fixed tailwheel configuration with split main units. The wings were of wooden frames skinned in plywood, and the fuselage was built from welded steel covered in fabric.
The prototype Gannet began flight testing in October 1935, but was destroyed in a fatal crash shortly after. Despite this, the Gannet entered series production.

The type was operated by Butler Air Transport between Sydney and Broken Hill and one flew with Ansett Airways in 1943.It was the first Australian-designed and built aircraft to be taken on by the Royal Australian Air Force. RAAF Gannets saw service as survey aircraft between 1935 and 1942 when they were converted into air ambulances. The last RAAF Gannets were scrapped in 1946.

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[rookie]

Transavia PL-12 Airtruk

The Transavia PL-12 Airtruk is a single-engine agricultural aircraft.

The Airtruk is a shoulder-wing strut braced aircraft built with an all-metal construction. The cockpit is mounted above a tractor-located opposed-cylinder air-cooled engine and stumpy fuselage with rear door. The engine cowling, rear fuselage and top decking are of fibreglass. It has a tricycle undercarriage, the main units of which are carried on the lower wings. It has twin tail booms with two unconnected tails. Its first flight was on 22 April 1965, and was certified on 10 February 1966. It was powered by 300 hp Rolls Royce Continental IO-520-D engine

It has a 1 tonne capacity hopper and is able to ferry two passengers. Other versions can be used as cargo, ambulance or aerial survey aircraft, and carry one passenger in the top deck and four in the lower deck.
In July 1978 an improved model, the T-300 Skyfarmer made it`s first flight, which was powered by a Textron Lycoming IO-540-engine. This was followed in 1981 by the T-300A with improved aerodynamics. Transavia ceased production of the T-300 in 1985.

Puts me in mind of a mini Blackburn Beverly

[Angry Turnip]

Back to Europe, and Romania....


IAR CV 11

The I.A.R. fighter was named the C.V. 11 after its designers, it had a mixed metal-wood structure and low-wing configuration. The front fuselage structure was made of duraluminum tubes, while the rear part was of pinewood. The engine nacelle and the fuselage up to the cockpit were covered by duraluminum sheets, the section by plywood. The rear part of the fuselage merged with the tail giving the aircraft a rather unusual arrow-like look.The unbalanced control surfaces, which proved to be too small during trials, were made entirely of wood covered by fabric.

A second prototype was completed at I.A.R. This time a less powerful but lighter Hispano-Suiza 12Mc engine, with 12-cylinders in V, had been fitted to essentially the same fuselage. Although weaker than its predecessor, this engine gave a superior maximum speed of just over 200mph.The armament of two 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Vickers machine guns firing through the propeller arc had been retained from the first prototype. An O.P.L. type gunsight helped the pilot to aim its guns.In September 1931, General Constantin Lazarescu, the new inspector of DSA, decided not to consider the I.A.R. design, but to purchase the Polish P.Z.L. P.11.

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[Angry Turnip]

IAR-15

The IAR 15 was a low-wing monoplane fighter designed in 1933.

It was based on the IAR-14, but had a radial powerplant so the front fuselage underwent an extensive redesign. As the cross-section was rounded a ring covered the 600 h.p. Gnome & Rhône 9Krs engine. With the new nine-cylinder radial the open cockpit aircraft attained a top speed of 230 mph at 13,000ft . This was later raised in stages to 34,000ft meaning the I.A.R. 15 could intercept most contemporary major bomber types.

The fuselage was a steel tube structure covered with dural in front of the cockpit and fabric to the rear. The tail was redesigned to a more triangular shape, and was also built of steel tube and dural-covered. An improved single strut undercarriage complete with wheel spats was fitted near the wing roots, and a small wheel replaced the tailskid. The wings were rounded off and shortened, they were built around two dural spars with a mixture of wood and metal ribs. Five prototypes were built and tests showed that the IAR 15 was as fast as competing aircraft, but less manoeuvrable, so no orders were placed for the type.

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[Angry Turnip]

IAR 37,38 and 39.

The IAR 37 was a 1930s Romanian reconnaissance and light bomber aircraft from the late 1930`s.

The IAR 37 prototype first flew in 1937. It was an unequal-span single bay biplane with a fixed tailwheel landing gear,it was powered by a licensed built Gnome-Rhône Mistral Major radial engine of 870 HP. It had a crew of three under a glazed cockpit, with the pilot and observer up front and a gunner at the rear.
The IAR 37 entered production in 1938, but production of the engine was very slow, which prevented the aircraft from being completed, and it was replaced on the production line by the IAR 38 and IAR 39 which were powered by a BMW 132 engine. As availability of the engine improved, the incomplete IAR 37s were fitted with IAR K.14-III C36 uprated slightly to 930 HP. Total production of all three types was 380, which continued until October 1944 with the majority being IAR 39s.                                                                             

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[Angry Turnip]

IAR 80

The IAR 80 was a low-wing monoplane, all-metal monocoque fighter and ground-attack aircraft from the late 1930`s.

Design work began on the IAR 80 prototype in late 1937, at first with an open cockpit and the 870 hp IAR K14-III C32 engine.Construction was slow and the first flight was not until April 1939. Test flights of the prototype were impressive; the aircraft could reach 320 mph at 13,000 ft, service ceiling was 36,000 ft.The IAR 80 also proved to be enjoyable to fly and was manoeuverable.
To improve power the design was updated to mount the newer 930 hp C36, however this engine was slightly heavier than the C32, which required the rear fuselage to be stretched to move the center of gravity back into the correct position. The extra space in the fuselage allowed larger fuel tanks to be fitted, and the wing was also enlarged also the tail was revised to remove the bracing struts.

The pilot had poor forward visibility while taxiing than most taildraggers so the seat was raised slightly and a bubble-style canopy was fitted. The initial batch in 1941 of fighters was well received by the Romanian pilots, but they found the aircraft underpowered and lacking firepower. By April 1941 the Romanians had joined the Axis powers, and as a result the Germans released machine guns for the aircraft. The resulting 80A model finally mounted the original complement of six guns. Armored glass in the windscreen, seat-back armor, and a new gun sight were also added at the same time, along with an uprated 1,025 hp K14-1000A engine. The extra engine power proved to be more than the fuselage structure was designed to handle, and it had to be reinforced with a metal band behind the cockpit in the first 95 A series aircraft built before the fuselage could be redesigned.

After World War II, the Soviets shipped home the entire I.A.R. factory and all aircraft from Brașov, as war reparations.IAR 80s remained in service until 1949, then replaced by La-9s and Il-10s. Those airframes with the lowest hours were modified by removing a fuel tank in front of the cockpit and adding a second seat, resulting in a trainer designated the IAR 80DC. These were used for only a short time before being replaced by Yak-11s and Yak-18s in late 1952. In total almost 450 aircraft were completed in several versions.

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[Angry Turnip]

IAR-822

The IAR-822 was an agricultural aircraft built in the 1960s.

It was a conventional low-wing monoplane with fixed, tailwheel undercarriage.The prototype first flew on 20 March 1970 and was built at IRMA (Intreprinderea de Reparatii Material Aeronautic - Enterprise for Aeronautical Material Repairement), in Bucharest. The spraying/dusting equipment was certified during a flight on 10 August 1970.the aircraft was powered by a Lycoming IO-540-G1-D5 air-cooled flat-six of 290 hp.The prototype first flew on 20 March 1970.

IAR 822A was in use until the early 1980s, with an average of 400 flight hours/year/airframe. They were mainly employed in the agricultural role, but were sometimes used for aerial surveillance of pipe lines and power lines. Five IAR-822 Bs were used by the Romanian Air Force for a short time in 1974-75, probably to complement the tired IAR-813 in the primary training role until the IAR-823 entered service.

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[Angry Turnip]

IAR 823

The IAR-823 is a civil and military trainer aircraft in production from 1974 until 1983.

It is a low-wing monoplane with retractable tricycle undercarriage. The pilot and instructor sit side-by-side, and two more seats can be fitted behind them. The prototype's construction began in autumn 1971, and flew for the first time on 10 June 1973. The second aircraft was shown at the Farnborough Air Show in September 1974.The type was operated by the Romanian Air Force as a primary trainer, and was also supplied to Romanian and Hungarian aeroclubs and the flying school of Angola. The aircraft was powered by a 290hp Lycoming IO-540-G1D5 air-cooled flat-six engine.

In total 78 planes were produced, with the last built in 1983. The first deliveries took place in 1974. The main customer was the Romanian Air Force who operated it in the basic flight training role.
With the Romanian Air Force there were four crashes, including the one in Angola, all fatal. Operations with the IAR-823 became a problem in the early 1990s as the fuel required for the type was no longer produced in country and had to be imported from Greece. At this point the aircraft were surplus to requirements and in need of a serious overhaul, they were put up for sale. 10 were bought by a private US customer in 1999, then another 36, plus all spare parts in 2000. Another 6 were purchased in October 2004 from the Romanian Air Club, many of which were restored back to flying condition.

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[Angry Turnip]

IAR-93 Vultur

The Avioane Craiova IAR-93 Vultur is a twinjet, subsonic, multi-role aircraft.

On May 20, 1971, Romania and Yugoslavia signed an agreement to develop and manufacture a light subsonic aircraft for ground attack, tactical recon, and with low level air combat as a secondary capability. It was to be built using locally produced equipment and avionics, but able to operate on grass or damaged runways, easy to maintain and reliable. The aircraft was a conventional twin-engine, high wing monoplane with all flying surfaces swept. The Rolls-Royce Viper was to be the powerplant, as SOKO had experience with licence-building the engine. During the 1980s, both countries developed slightly different versions to take advantage of the afterburning engines that had since become available.

The Romanian single-seat prototype White 001 made its first flight on October 31, 1974 simultaneously with the Yugoslav prototype at Batajnica Air Base.On September 20, 1979 the plane was lost when, during a test flight both engines stopped and the pilot ejected. This led to modifications to the combustion chamber including all aircraft already delivered.
The DC two-seat prototype #003 first flew on January 23, 1977, and was lost on November 24, 1977 due to tail flutter. The left elevator failed in level flight at low level , the two test pilots ejected safely. Due to the failure, the aft fuselage structure was modified and reinforced.

Due to the outbreak of the war in Yugoslavia and the UN embargo, the IAR-93 program ended in Romania in 1992, with several airframes under construction. Around 75 aircraft were still in service.The last IAR-93s were withdrawn and mothballed from the Romanian Air Force in 1998.The J-22 Orao are still in service with the air force of Serbia.

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[Angry Turnip]

IAR 99

The IAR 99 Șoim "Hawk" is an advanced trainer and light attack aircraft.

Design of the aircraft started in 1975 and would be the first jet trainer fully designed and built in Romania. In 1979 funding was approved for building the first prototype which first flew on 21 December 1985. The aircraft entered series production in 1987, with 17 aircraft delivered to the Romanian Air Force by 1989.The aircraft has a tandem-stepped dual-control cockpit fitted with Martin-Baker Mk 10 zero-zero ejection seats.

By 1990 an export version was proposed, while the aircraft had excellent aerodynamic and handling qualities, it was let down because of its obsolete avionics, with upgrading becoming a priority.
Two aircraft 708 and 709 were modified by installing Honeywell avionics, the canopy was changed to a two-piece design. This change would be retained for all subsequent aircraft. 708 took its first flight on August 8th 1990 followed by 709 on August 22nd. The aircraft were displayed at the 1990 Farnborough Airshow.

In 1996 the upgrade program of the IAR 99 was revived with the requirement for a lead-in trainer for the upgraded MiG-21 Lancer. The Israeli company Elbit was chosen as a sub contractor. The avionics package is based on the MiG-21 Lancer upgrade. The first upgraded IAR 99 was the 18th production aircraft (number 718), which performed its first flight on 22 May 1997.

In 2015, a consortium announced that another enhanced version of the IAR 99 called IAR 99 TD is under development. A single airframe will be built with a new avionics suite, a engine and features the Leonardo Vixen 500E radar which requires lengthening the nose. A new engine which supports computer control is required to replace the 1951 designed Rolls Royce Viper. This in turn will need larger air intakes. A prototype is expected to be completed by late 2022.

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[Angry Turnip]

IAR 330 Helicopter

The IAR 330 is the Romanian-built version of the Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma,manufactured by IAR Brașov.

Instead of buying a Soviet design for a midsize utility helicopter, Romania opted to obtain a licence to manufacture the Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma on 30 July 1974. The first licensed aircraft was flown on 22 October 1975 under the designation IAR-330L. Over 165 of these helicopters have been built,104 were allocated to Romania's Armed Forces, and 2 machines were retained by the manufacturer plus a further 57 were produced for export. There is also a search and rescue (SAR) version, fitted with inflatable floats for emergency landing at sea.

In the 1990s, the Romanian Air Force decided to upgrade the combat capabilities of the IAR 330L, making it an anti-tank and support helicopter. Romania had been working with Israel on some military programs. Israeli company Elbit Systems was chosen, and in September 1995 the Romanian Air Force signed a contract to upgrade 24 helicopters with the SOCAT anti-tank system.
The first IAR 330L SOCAT was flown on 26th May 1998, from IAR's airfield, and on 23rd October 1999, the second prototype flew. The first IAR 330L SOCAT was delivered to a combat unit in 2001. In all, 25 SOCATs were produced, including the prototype, rebuilt to production standard in 2005.

The IAR 330M NATO is a modernized transport version with the SOCAT version's avionics and it has a weather radar. Twelve IAR 330Ls were modernized to 330M standard between 2005 and 2008. Production of the IAR330 in is still ongoing at the Industria Aeronautică Română plant at Ghimbav near Brașov including a naval version.

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[Angry Turnip]

ICA IS-28

The ICA IS-28 is a two-seat sailplane from the 1970s.

It is an all-metal aircraft of conventional design with a T-tail, originally with 15-metre wings, but in 1973, production shifted to the IS-28B with 17-metre wings and several aerodynamic refinements. These included a smaller tail with decreased dihedral, decreased dihedral on the wings, and a redesigned fuselage profile. This version first flew on 26 April 1973 and was produced in versions with flaps (IS-28B2) and without (IS-28B1). Around 100 had been built by the early 1980s, with a large number sold for export. On April 7, 1979, Tom Knauff and R. Tawse set a world record with the IS-28 B2 glider, covering a distance of 829 kilometres on a predetermined out-and-return course in Julian, Pennsylvania.

The IS-28B2 features in the John Carpenter 1981 movie Escape From New York. The IS-28 was also produced as a motorglider, initially as just a powered version of the IS-28B2 (designated the IS-28M1) and then as the redesigned IS-28M2. This version had a new forward fuselage offering side-by-side seating, the wings were relocated to a low-set position on the fuselage, and tailwheel undercarriage with main units that semi-retracted backwards into the wings. The rear fuselage, empennage, and outer wing panels remained identical with the sailplane version.

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[Angry Turnip]

ICA IAR-35

The ICA IAR-35 is an aerobatic Romanian glider designed and built in the 1980s.

The IAR-35 is an all-metal, single seat, short span glider developed for aerobatics. It has a three spar shoulder wing, with metal ribs and metal skinning, with a constant chord centre section and tapered outer panels. The entire trailing edge is occupied by all-metal, statically balanced ailerons, each fitted with an automatic trim tab. Airbrakes extend both above and below the wings.

The fuselage is a metal semi-monocoque with duralumin skin. The cockpit sits ahead of the wing with the pilot under a single piece Perspex canopy. Below the wing is a monowheel, fitted with a brake, which retracts behind a pair of doors. The IAR-35 also has a fixed, semi-recessed tailwheel and a skid under the nose and the wing tips are protected by sprung balance wheels.
The IAR-35 first flew in May 1986,only a small number were built.

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[Angry Turnip]

SET 3

The SET 3 was a military trainer aircraft developed in the late 1920s.

It was a single-bay biplane with unstaggered wings of equal span. It was had a fixed tailskid undercarriage, and the pilot and instructor sat in tandem, open cockpits. The design was shown to the Romanian Air Force for consideration, and gained an order for two prototypes to be placed. Upon delivery, one of the aircraft was used for flight tests, while the other was tested on the ground.The type first flew in 1928 and after 11 months, an order for 10 aircraft was placed, which were delivered to the air force's pilot training school at Tecuci. The new aircraft was flown by SET chief test pilot Gheorghe Stefanescu to first place in the aerobatics competition at the 1929 Romanian national aviation meeting.

It was powered by a Salmson 9Ab engine which developed 230 hp. In December 1930, the air force placed an order for 20 more aircraft in two different batches. Ten were to be basically similar to the SET 3 but feature various improvements including a redesigned undercarriage, and another ten armed with machine guns for pilot and observer.

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[Angry Turnip]

SET 7

The SET 7 was a military trainer and reconnaissance aircraft from the early 1930`s.

It was originally designed as a conventional single-bay biplane, with slightly staggered wings, a standard fixed undercarriage with tailskid, and a tandem open-cockpit for the pilot and instructor or observer. Power was supplied by a 380hp Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar radial engine, the aircraft was equipped for wireless and photographic reconnaissance duties.

The aircraft was further developed with an armed version in 1934, adding a trainable machine gun for the observer and a fixed machine gun for the pilot. Known as the 7K, it was powered by a 400 hp cowled Gnome-Rhône 7Ksd engine, and the 7KB (fitted with bomb racks) and 7KD were subtypes that followed it. A floatplane version was produced for the Navy as the 7H.
Around 120 of the various versions were built.

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[Angry Turnip]

Czech Republic and Czechoslovakia next....

Beneš-Mráz Be-50 Beta-Minor

The Beneš-Mráz Be-50 Beta-Minor was a light sports airplane from the mid 1930`s.

The Be-50 was first flown in 1935, it was a low-wing wooden monoplane, with tandem open cockpits and fixed tailwheel undercarriage. It proved popular with Czechoslovakia's aeroclubs and was also successful in international competitions. In 1937, a revised and modernised version, the Be-51, was produced, which featured a reduced wingspan and fully enclosed cockpits. A final variant, the Be-52 Beta-Major retained the Be-50's open cockpits but featured improved aerodynamics and a more powerful 95hp 4 cyclinder Walter Major engine.
Several Be-51s survived to be used by the Luftwaffe as liaison aircraft and trainers.

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[Angry Turnip]

Beneš-Mráz Be-150 Beta-Junior

The Beneš-Mráz Be-150 Beta-Junior was a light aerobatic trainer and racing aircraft from the 1930`s.

Due to the success of the Beneš-Mráz Be-5, Beneš decided to produce a revised version with increased performance for sport flying. An incentive was the availability of five 105 hp Walter Junior engines, which would provide the Be-150 with much improved vertical performance. The fuselage was shortened and was fitted the short-span wings of the Be-52, retaining the open cockpits and fixed tailwheel undercarriage of the Be-50.
The Be-150 was first flown on 5 January 1937, but was rejected by the government, and the three completed production aircraft were used for general flying club use.

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[Angry Turnip]

Beneš-Mráz Bibi

The Beneš-Mráz Bibi was a 1930s two-seat touring aircraft.

The Bibi was designed and manufactured by Beneš-Mráz, and a development of the Beta-Minor design. The Bibi was a lighter, smaller aircraft featuring side by side cockpit seats instead of in tandem.The cockpit was fully enclosed, retaining the Beta-Minor's cantilever low-wing cantilever monoplane layout, with fixed tailwheel undercarriage. Development of the Bibi began with the Be-501 two-seat cabin tourer, and culminated with the Be-555 Super Bibi.Powerplant was a Walter Mikron II air-cooled 4-cylinder inverted inline engine producing 60 hp.

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[Angry Turnip]

Mráz Bonzo

The Mráz M-3 Bonzo was a light aircraft built in 1948.

The Bonzo was based on the M-1 Sokol airframe, but with a redesigned wing and several changes to the fuselage. These included lengthening it to allow for the addition of a fourth seat, reducing the height of the rear fuselage to allow for a new cabin with improved visibility, and the addition of a semi-retractable nosewheel to replace the tailwheel.

Construction of two prototypes was not approved by the Department of Transport, but designer Rublič was able to raise the money privately to build one prototype, which flew in April 1948. It was hoped that production could begin in 1950, and the Bonzo was exhibited at the 1949 Paris Air Show. No sales resulted, however, and the prototype was flown for a while by the Institute of Cartography in Bratislava before being handed over for aeroclub use in 1952.
Powerplant was a 160hp Walter Minor 6-III air-cooled six-cylinder inverted inline engine, which gave a cruise speed of 150mph.

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[Angry Turnip]

CKD Praga E-40

The Praga E-40 was a single engine, two seat, basic trainer biplane from the mid 1930`s.

The E-40,was a single-bay biplane with open, tandem cockpits. The swept wings had twin wooden spars and a mixture of plywood and fabric covering. Ailerons were fitted to the lower wing and the upper wing had a cut-out on its trailing edge to improve visibility from the forward cockpit. The interplane struts were steel and the bay was braced with streamlined wires. A pair of vertical N-form struts joined the wing centre section to the upper fuselage. The fixed tail surfaces were wood framed and plywood covered; the tailplane was strut braced from below. Elevators and rudder were fabric covered over steel frames.

The fuselage was a steel framework, braced at the front and rear. The nose and the upper decking were covered with detachable steel panels with fabric covering used elsewhere. Fuel and engine oil tanks were in the fuselage. The E-40 was powered by a four-cylinder (85/95 hp) Walter Minor air-cooled, inverted piston engine driving a two-blade propeller. It had a split type main undercarriage with wheels on V-form legs. Rubber compression spring units were mounted in extended hubs; the pistons of the units were held in place on a shallow, inverted V strut, itself attached to the lower fuselage via a steel tube pyramid. The tailwheel was castored and had rubber springing within the rear fuselage.
The number actually built is unknown, according to some sources it was 43, but others claim only one was completed.

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