The Beneš-Mráz Be-150 Beta-Junior was a

light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

aerobatic Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gl ...

trainer and

racing aircraft Air racing is a type of motorsport that involves airplanes or other types of aircraft that compete over a fixed course, with the winner either returning the shortest time, the one to complete it with the most points, or to come closest to a pre ...

, designed and built in

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

in the late 1930s.

Design and development

With the success of the

Beneš-Mráz Be-50 Beta-Minor The Beneš-Mráz Be-50 Beta-Minor was a light airplane manufactured in Czechoslovakia shortly before World War II. Design and development First flown in 1935, it was a low-wing cantilever monoplane of wooden construction, with tandem open cockp ...

Beneš decided to produce a smaller version with better performance for sport flying. A major incentive was the availability of five spare

Walter Junior The Walter Junior was a family of four cylinder air cooled inverted inline engines produced by Walter Aircraft Engines in Czechoslovakia in the 1930s for aircraft, characterised by a bore and stroke of , a displacement of and producing roughly ...

engines, which would imbue the Be-150 with much improved vertical performance compared to the Be-50. Beneš shortened the

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

and fitted the short-span wings of the Be-52, retaining the open cockpits and fixed, trousered,

tailwheel undercarriage Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft Landing gear, undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the Center of gravity of an aircraft, center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail ...

of the Be-50.

Operational history

The Be-150 was first flown on 5 January 1937, but was rejected by the MNO ( Czechoslovak Ministry of Defense) and the three production aircraft were used for general

flying club A flying club or aero club is a non-profit organization, not-for-profit, member-run organization that provides its members with affordable access to aircraft. Many clubs also provide flight training, flight planning facilities, pilot supplies and ...

use and for air racing.

Specifications (Be-150)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benes-Mraz Be-150 Beta-Junior 1930s Czechoslovak sport aircraft Beta-Junior Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1937 Aerobatic aircraft