Jurca MJ-54 Silas

The Jurca MJ-54 Silas is a two-seat light touring cargo aircraft designed by Marcel Jurca to enable a small car to be transported along with the pilot and passenger.[upper-alpha 1]

MJ-54 Silas
Role Light cargo aircraft
National origin France
Designer Marcel Jurca
Built by Association Tegas
First flight 30 April 1997
Status Abandoned
Number built 1

Origins

The aircraft came from an idea by Arthur-Joseph Torossian in 1992, who wanted a touring aircraft which could carry a very small vehicle, such as the Aixam Microcar, for use at remote airfields, and which could also be used as sleeping accommodation with the car removed.[1] The car could also act as an aircraft tug at airports. He envisioned it as a combination of a Max Holste Broussard and a Transall C.160. He saw many other uses for the aircraft, including as an air ambulance, carrier for four parachutists, disabled persons carrier, or freighter. Torossian envisaged a market for 1000 aircraft, and during the development of the prototype was looking for a company to mass-produce it.[2] In 2000 he was awarded the French Union of Inventors' prize for the best invention.

Development

The well-known designer of wooden homebuilt aircraft, Marcel Jurca was enlisted to design the prototype. Construction was started at Cerny Aerodrome, La Ferté-Alais by Torossian and a group of friends, who together formed a group known as the Association Tegas, a reversal of the surname of Dassault test pilot Jean-Marie Saget.[2] This led to the aircraft sometimes mistakenly being called "The Tegas". The aircraft, registered F-WGBT and nicknamed "Cargolito", first flew on 30 April 1997,[3] but this may have just consisted of a few hops along the runway. Development was slow, and a public presentation wasn't held until 16 January 2002 at La Ferté-Alais.[1] Apparently, obtaining a permit to fly was difficult because of the fuel in the car’s tank. Joseph Torossian had great problems getting finance for production. A planned promotional tour of French flying clubs seems not to have taken place, and little has happened to it since. It remains stored on the airfield.

Design

The MJ-54 is a high-wing monoplane of wooden construction, with two seats accessed by two gull-wing doors. The cockpit was designed with touring comfort in mind. The fuselage is a box structure with a rear loading ramp up which a small car can be driven, or other freight loaded. The centre of gravity changes little, whether loaded or unloaded. It has a cantilever wing. The horizontal tailplane is attached to the underside of a rear boom, with twin fins and rudders on the tips. It has a fixed tricycle undercarriage.

Specifications (MJ-54)

Data from Tegas.net (on Wayback Machine)[2]

General characteristics

  • Crew: one pilot
  • Capacity: one passenger
  • Length: 9 m (29 ft 6 in)
  • Wingspan: 12 m (39 ft 4 in)
  • Empty weight: 1,410 kg (3,109 lb)
  • Gross weight: 1,750 kg (3,858 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming , 190 kW (250 hp)
  • Propellers: 2-bladed

Performance

  • Cruise speed: 190 km/h (120 mph, 100 kn)
  • Range: 750 km (470 mi, 400 nmi)

Footnotes
  1. Unusually for Jurca, the name 'Silas' does not refer to a wind. It may may be a reversal of the surname of Jean-Baptiste Salis, the leading light of La Ferté-Alais airfield where the aircraft was built.
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References
  1. Bry, Hélène. "He built a plane to take his car (in French)". Le Parisien. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  2. "Prototype M.J SILAS Mini cargo (in French)". Wayback Machine: tegas.net. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  3. "The "Cargolito" takes its first steps (in French)". Le Républicain. 26 February 1998.


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