The Beneš-Mráz Be-50 Beta-Minor was a light airplane manufactured 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 ...

shortly before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Design and development

First flown in 1935, it was a low-wing

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

of wooden construction, with tandem open

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, on the front part of an aircraft, spacecraft, or submersible, from which a pilot controls the vehicle. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls th ...

s and fixed tailwheel undercarriage. The aircraft proved popular with Czechoslovakia's aeroclubs and was successful in international competitions. In 1937, the designers created a modernised version, the Be-51, 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

Walter Major Walter Major was a family of Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak aircraft inline engines developed by Walter Aircraft Engines in the 1930s. Design and development Available in either four or six cylinder configuration, with identical bore and stroke o ...

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...

Operational history

Like other Czechoslovakian aircraft, all available machines were impressed into Air Force service at the outbreak of war. Several Be-51s survived to be used by the ''

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

'' as liaison aircraft and trainers during the occupation. In 2015, replica of Be-50 started operating. It crashed at airshow in August 2018, killing its pilot. Na Prachaticku spadlo unikátní letadlo Be 50 Beta Minor, pilot zemřel – iDNES.cz
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Variants

;Be-50 Beta-Minor:Tandem open cockpits and span wings. ;Be-51 Beta-Minor:tandem seats in an enclosed cabin and span wings. ; Be-52 Beta-Major:Strengthened and more powerful two-seat

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, with span wings. ; Be-56 Beta-Major:Strengthened and more powerful single-seat aerobatic trainer, with span wings.

Operators

; *

Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia The Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia (; ZNDH), was the air force of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), a puppet state established with the support of the Axis Powers on the territory of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia during World W ...

; *

Slovak Air Force (1939–1945) The Slovak Air Force (, or SVZ), between 1939 and 1945, was the air force of the short-lived World War II Slovak Republic (1939–1945), Slovak Republic. Its mission was to provide air support at fronts, and to protect Bratislava and metropolita ...

Specifications (Be-51 Beta-Minor)

Notes

References

* * * Němeček, V. (1968). ''Československá letadla''. Praha: Naše Vojsko. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Benes-Mraz Be-50 Beta-Minor 1930s Czechoslovak sport aircraft Beta-Minor Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1935