Mráz Bonzo

This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Czech. (February 2020) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Czech article. Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 971 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Czech Wikipedia article at [[:cs:Mráz M-3 Bonzo]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template {{Translated|cs|Mráz M-3 Bonzo}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

M-3 Bonzo
Role	Utility aircraft
National origin	Czechoslovakia
Manufacturer	Mráz
Designer
First flight	April 1948
Number built	1

The Mráz M-3 Bonzo was a light aircraft built in Czechoslovakia in 1948 as a further development in the family of light aircraft that had commenced with the M-1 Sokol.

Design and development[]

The Bonzo was based on the Sokol airframe, but with a redesigned wing and substantial changes to the fuselage. These included lengthening it to allow for the addition of a fourth seat, reducing the height of the rear fuselage to allow for a new cabin with all-around visibility, and the addition of a semi-retractable nosewheel in place of a tailwheel.

Funding for the construction of two prototypes was not approved by the Department of Transport, but designer Rublič was able to raise the money elsewhere to build one prototype, which flew in April 1948. It was hoped that production could begin in 1950, and the Bonzo was exhibited at the 1949 Paris Air Show. No sales resulted, however, and the prototype was flown for a while by the Institute of Cartography in Bratislava before being handed over for aeroclub use in 1952.

In 1961, the Bonzo was flown to set a number of national speed records, but was withdrawn from use soon afterwards.

Specifications[]

Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1951–52 ^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Capacity: 3 passengers
• Length: 7.72 m (25 ft 4 in)
• Wingspan: 10.60 m (34 ft 9 in)
• Height: 2.25 m (7 ft 5 in)
• Wing area: 15.9 m² (171 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 580 kg (1,279 lb)
• Gross weight: 1,100 kg (2,425 lb)
• Fuel capacity: 165 L (36 imp gal; 44 US gal)
• Powerplant: 1 × Walter Minor 6-III air-cooled six-cylinder inverted inline engine, 120 kW (160 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 266 km/h (165 mph, 144 kn)
• Cruise speed: 240 km/h (150 mph, 130 kn)
• Range: 1,000 km (620 mi, 540 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 5,000 m (16,000 ft)
• Rate of climb: 3.0 m/s (590 ft/min)

See also[]

Related development

• Mráz Sokol

References[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mraz Bonzo M-3.

• Bridgman, Leonard (1951). Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1951–52. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd.
• Němeček, Václav (1968). Československá letadla. Prague: Naše Vojsko.
• Simpson, R. W. (1995). Airlife's General Aviation. Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing.
• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 571.