| MJ-53 Autan | |
|---|---|
| Role | Homebuilt 2-seat touring aircraft |
| National origin | France |
| Designer | Marcel Jurca |
| First flight | 1992 |
| Number built | 2 |
The Jurca MJ-53 Autan (named after a wind in Southern France) is a plans-built, low-wing, touring monoplane designed in France by Marcel Jurca.
Jurca was initially reluctant to design a side-by-side configuration aircraft as he preferred single-seat or tandem-seat 'fighters', but he was convinced to do it by friends and potential customers.[1]
The Autan is a development of the wooden-construction Jurca MJ-5 Sirocco, with a new trapezoidal wing based on the Jurca MJ-7 Gnatsum, but with flaps. The fuselage is redesigned to accommodate a wider cabin, and the result is a shoulder width of 118 cm (3.87 ft), unusually spacious for this class of aircraft. The basic design is for a fixed undercarriage, but it allows for electrically or hydraulically powered retractable gear. For reasons of weight, aerobatics are preferably done only with the fixed gear.[1]
Two prototypes have been built, both with electrically-powered retractable landing gear, and with Lycoming O-360 180 hp (134 kW) engines. They made their first flights in 1992.[2]
In 1998 Jurca started studying a four-seat development, the MJ-58, but he was busy with developing the Jurca MJ-70 Gnatsum, and nothing came of it.[1]
Data from Avions Marcel Jurca[1]
General characteristics
Performance