Marcel Jurca, (1921 – 19 October 2001) was a prolific designer of

homebuilt aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He is best known for his Tempête and Sirocco designs.

Early life

Born in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, Jurca was impressed by the

PZL PZL, may refer to: Places * PZL, an IATA airport code for Phinda Airfield in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa * PZL, a location code for the Złotów County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, in the system of the vehicle registration plates of Polan ...

fighters which often flew over him. He learned to fly in a Grunau 9 primary glider while studying engineering. Having joined the

Royal Romanian Air Force The Air Force branch of the Royal Romanian forces in World War II was officially named the (ARR, ), though it is more commonly referred to in English histories as the (Royal Romanian Air Force, FARR), or simply (Romanian Air Force). It provided ...

in 1940, he flew the

Henschel Hs 129 The Henschel Hs 129 was a ground-attack aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Henschel Flugzeugwerke AG. Fielded by the ''Luftwaffe'' during the Second World War, it saw combat in Tunisia and on the Eastern Front. ...

in 1943-1944. He moved to France in 1948. After a period as a volunteer flying instructor on the Stampe et Vertongen SV.4, he worked in industry, including 15 years as a commercial director, and retired in 1983. He was naturalised French in 1965.

Aircraft design

On moving to France, he missed having an aircraft to fly, so he created his own. His first attempt at aircraft design was the MJ-1, which he considered unsatisfactory. He then built a Jodel D-112 with the help of the Aéro-Club de Courbevoie at

Saint-Cyr-l'École Saint-Cyr-l'École () is a Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris. It used to host the training school for officers of the French army, the École spéciale mil ...

. It flew in 1954. Then, inspired by the Piel CP-40 Donald, he designed, built and flew the MJ-2. This was very successful, and he started selling plans for homebuilders. In 1965 a factory in Nancy produced an MJ-5, and Jurca started Constructions Aéronautiques Lorraines Francois-Jurca & Cie, based in Nancy, but apparently this was not a successful venture. His designs have only ever been directly sold as plans for homebuilding. Most aircraft are designed for wood construction, but some builders have used other methods, for example steel tube and fabric, especially for fuselages. He considered all his designs to be fighters (except for the MJ-54), and all are taildraggers (with the exception of the MJ-6, MJ-66 and MJ-54). In the mid 1960s, he considered that the American small

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

replica homebuilt aircraft weren’t very realistic, and noticed that the Sirocco was about the size of a Mustang. He set about designing that and other scale

warbird A warbird is any vintage military aircraft now operated by civilian organizations and individuals, or in some instances, by historic arms of military forces, such as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the Royal Australian Air Force's No. 100 ...

s, but he realised that he was having to make too many compromises, particularly in their overall appearance, and moved up to scale warbird replicas. Then his American agent encouraged him to design full-size versions, particularly for the American market. Initially reluctant, he measured a real

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...

at the Friedrichshafen airshow and realised that it could accommodate or Lycoming engines. He went on to measure the

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

at the Musée de l’air in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and developed the Spitfire plans, then the Bf 109 and

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (Shrike) is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, the ...

, followed by the Mustang, the design he was still developing on his death.

Designs

;MJ-1 :Inspired by the lines of the Bf 109. Built in 1950 with a Train engine, nicknamed “Jurmar“, but Jurca wasn’t satisfied with it – there were “too many errors of design”, and it never flew. ; MJ-2 Tempête :

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 ...

single-seat

tailwheel Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

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 ...

inspired by the

Hawker Typhoon The Hawker Typhoon was a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. It was intended to be a medium-high altitude interceptor aircraft, interceptor, as a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, but several design problems we ...

and including several features and parts from the Jodel. First flight June 1956. Can be built with a second seat for a passenger up to 55kg. ; MJ-3H Dart :

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 ...

of the MJ-2 with wings of MJ-5 and

retractable gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for taxiing, takeoff or landing. For aircraft, it is generally needed for all three of these. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, s ...

. Only 1 built. First flight 1977. ; MJ-4 Shadow :Single-seat retractable gear version of the MJ-2 with a swept

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. F ...

; MJ-5 Sirocco :Aerobatic 2-seat tandem fixed or retractable gear monoplane First flight 3 August 1962. ;MJ-5 Sirocco Sport Wing :A version with wider

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

specifically for the Australia and New Zealand markets. ; MJ-6 Crivats aka “Lou Ventous” :Tandem twin-engined project with retractable tricycle gear, comparable to the Wing Derringer – construction started in 1964 but it was never completed. ; MJ-7 Gnatsum : scale Mustang. The prototype was built by

Falconar Avia Falconar Avia was a Canadian aircraft manufacturer based in Edmonton, Alberta. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of kits and plans for amateur construction.Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', page 1 ...

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

with a Ranger engine. First flight 31 July 1969. ; MJ-7S Solo :MJ-7 without the underbelly air scoop, designed as a single-seat trainer. ; MJ-8 One-Nine-0h : scale

. First flight in the USA in 1975. ; MJ-9 One-Oh-Nine : scale Messerschmitt Bf 109. ; MJ-10 Spit : scale Supermarine Spitfire IX with an optional second seat. First flight 1982. ;MJ-11 :1/1 scale

Hawker Sea Fury The Hawker Sea Fury is a British fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. It was the last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy. Developed during the Second World War, the Sea Fury entered service two year ...

. ; MJ-12 Pee-40 :Uncertain: scale

Curtiss P-40 The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry ...

or scale P-40. ; MJ-14 Fourtouna :Single-seat racer of wooden construction designed in 1971. One was started in the 1970s but was never completed. Semi-reclining seat. ;MJ-15 Delta :2-seat project with a

delta wing A delta wing is a wing shaped in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta (letter), delta (Δ). Although long studied, the delta wing did not find significant practical applications unti ...

, retractable tricycle undercarriage and a pusher propeller, for engines from . Not built. ;MJ-16 Vent :Single-seat project based on the MJ-2 with a tapered mid-wing and fixed landing gear – not built. ; MJ-20 Tempête :Construction of this strengthened version with a engine was started in

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but never completed. ; MJ-22 :Strengthened version of the MJ-2, with a engine. ;MJ-22 Bi-Tempête :Twin-fuselage Tempête project, never built. ; MJ-23 Orage :Racer/aerobatic project. Not built. ;MJ-25 Bise :Single-seat biplane project with wings based on the MJ-5. Not built. ; MJ-50 Windy :Metal version of MJ-5. ; MJ-51 Sperocco :Name derived from Special Sirocco . A high performance aerobatic 2-seat tandem low wing r/g monoplane with a modified fuselage from the MJ-5 and wings of the MJ-7. ; MJ-52 Zéphyr :Light version of MJ-5 – fixed or retractable landing gear, flaps optional, with slightly staggered seats. ; MJ-53 Autan :Aerobatic side-by-side fixed or retractable undercarriage version of the MJ-2. Reluctantly designed by Jurca, who preferred fighter-style aircraft. Prototype's first flight 20 December 1991. ; MJ-54 Silas :2-seat high-wing single-engined cargo transport aircraft. ; MJ55 Biso :Aerobatic 2-seater: an MJ-5 fuselage with an MJ-7 wing and a fixed undercarriage. Only one built - first flight 1997. ;MJ-56 Sirocco S :No information. ; MJ-58 :1998 four-seat version of the MJ-53 Autan. Never completed. ; MJ-66 Crivats :Side-by-side version of the MJ-6. Never completed. ; MJ-70 Gnatsum :1/1 scale Mustang being designed when Jurca died. Never completed. Jurca MJ-77 Gnatsum N751JR

; MJ-77 Gnatsum : scale Mustang 2-seater. Prototype built in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in 1969. ; MJ-80 :1/1 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190. First example flew in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 2006. ; MJ-90 :1/1 scale Bf 109. ; MJ-100 Spitfire :1/1 scale plans published in 1988. Prototype first flown in 1994. Wooden or metal tube fuselage and wooden wings. Has been built with engines up to .

References

External links

Avions Marcel Jurca website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jurca, Marcel Homebuilt aircraft Jurca aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft designers French aerospace engineers Naturalized citizens of France