Beneš-Mráz Beta-Minor

Be-50 Beta-Minor
Be-50 Beta-Minor
Role	Sports plane
Manufacturer	Beneš-Mráz
Designer	Pavel Beneš and Jaroslav Mráz
First flight	1935

The Beneš-Mráz Be-50 Beta-Minor was a light airplane manufactured in Czechoslovakia shortly before World War II.

First flown in 1935, it was a low-wing cantilever monoplane of wooden construction, with tandem open cockpits 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 engine.

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 as liaison aircraft and trainers during the occupation.

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General characteristics

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