The Jurca Gnatsum is a French

homebuilt Homebuilt machines are machines built outside of specialised workshops or factories. This can include different things such as kit cars or homebuilt computers, but normally it pertains to homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or ...

near scale replica aircraft based on the

North American P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

Design & Development

The Gnatsum (Mustang spelled backwards) is one of many wooden homebuilt designs from Romanian designer Marcel Jurca. Jurca, a

Henschel Hs 129 The Henschel Hs 129 was a World War II ground-attack aircraft fielded by the German ''Luftwaffe''. The aircraft saw combat in Tunisia and on the Eastern Front. A key requirement of the original specification was that the aircraft be powered b ...

pilot in World War II, expanded his warbird replica designs to include the Allied

fighter. The Gnatsum is a low-wing, cantilever monoplane with an enclosed single-seat cockpit and manually retractable tailwheel landing gear based on that of the

Jurca Sirocco The Jurca MJ-5 Sirocco (named for the Sirocco wind) is a two-seat sport aircraft designed in France in the early 1960s and marketed for homebuilding. It is one of many wooden homebuilt designs from Romanian born designer Marcel Jurca. Jurca, ...

. Suitable for a number of engines around , plans for the Gnatsum are available as the 2/3 scale MJ-7 and the 3/4 scale MJ-77, as well as the MJ-70 full-size representation. All versions are constructed from wood with fabric covering, and manufacturing rights to the kit aircraft were acquired by Falconar Avia. Plans for the MJ-77 are available from Avions Marcel Jurca. Some of the engines suitable for the MJ-7 Gnatsum series are:- * Ranger 6-440C-5 inline engine *

Menasco C4 The Menasco Pirate series were four-cylinder, air-cooled, in-line, inverted aero-engines, built by the Menasco Motors Company of Burbank, California, for use in light general and sport aircraft during the 1930s and 1940s. The Menasco engines c ...

de Havilland Gipsy Major The de Havilland Gipsy Major or Gipsy IIIA is a four-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline engine used in a variety of light aircraft produced in the 1930s, including the famous Tiger Moth biplane. Many Gipsy Major engines still power vintag ...

I * Rambler aluminum block in-line 6 * General Motors aluminum V-8

Variants

;MJ-7 :2/3 scale variant ;MJ-7S Solo :Single-seat advanced trainer version of MJ-7, the under-belly scoop inherited from the Mustang design was removed. ;MJ-77 :3/4 scale Mustang variant that requires an engine of .Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 94. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 100. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. ;MJ-70 :Full-scale variant (still under development in 2001 when Jurca died - never completed)

Specifications (Jurca MJ-77 Gnatsum)

References

*
Janes.com

Marcel Jurca old website

External links

*

Falconar Avia Website
{{Jurca aircraft 1960s French sport aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Gnatsum Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft North American P-51 Mustang replicas Aircraft first flown in 1969

Design & Development

Variants

Specifications (Jurca MJ-77 Gnatsum)

See also

References

External links