Junkers A50

A50
A50ci D-2054 in Deutsches Museum Munich
Role	Sports plane
Manufacturer	Junkers
Designer	Hermann Pohlmann
First flight	February 13, 1929
Number built	69
Unit cost	RM 16,200 or £795

The Junkers A50 was a German sports plane of the 1930s, also called the A50 Junior.

The Junkers A50 was the first sportsplane designed by Hermann Pohlmann in Junkers works. It had the same modern all-metal construction, covered with corrugated duralumin sheet, as larger Junkers passenger planes. The first flight of the A50 took place on 13 February 1929. It was followed by further four prototypes, in order to test different engines.

Junkers expected to produce 5,000 aircraft, but stopped after manufacturing only 69, of which only 50 were sold. The high prices probably inhibited sales. Apart from Germany, they were used in several other countries and some were used by airlines. The purchase price in 1930 in the United Kingdom was between £840 or £885. Starting from the A50ce variant, the wings could be folded for easier transport.

Three German A50 took part in the Challenge international touring plane competition in July 1929, taking 11th place (A50be, pilot Waldemar Roeder) and 17th place. Three A50 took part also in the Challenge 1930 next year, taking 15th (A50ce, pilot Johann Risztics), 27th and 29th places. In June 1930 a series of eight FAI world records for altitude, range and average speed were set on a floatplane variant of A50 with the Armstrong Siddeley 59 kW (79 hp) engine. In 1931 Marga von Etzdorf flew an A50 solo from Berlin to Tokyo, the first woman to do so.

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The -ce and -ci variants were produced in the largest numbers with about 25 of each on the German civil register. Due to their construction, the A50 were durable aircraft and they lasted long in service. The last plane was used in the 1960s in Finland. There is one A50 preserved in Deutsches Museum in Munich and another in Helsinki airport. One A50 (VH-UCC, c/n3517) is in airworthy condition in Australia.

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