Aero Ae 50
The Aero Ae 50 was a prototype propeller-driven military reconnaissance aircraft built in Czechoslovakia.
Design and development
In November 1947, the Czechoslovak Ministry of Defence issued requirements for two light aircraft for service in support of the Czechoslovak Army, a smaller two seat aircraft, to be powered by the Template:Convert Walter Minor 4-III engine and a larger aircraft to be powered by the Template:Convert Walter Minor 6-III engine. The smaller aircraft was intended for artillery spotting, observation and liaison duties. The aircraft was required to provide a good view for the observer and to be able to operate out of small austere airstrips. It needed to have folding wings and be able to be towed behind, or carried on the back of a 2.5te truck. It was also required to be towed by other aircraft, to extend the aircraft's range.Template:Sfn
At least eight projects were submitted to meet the requirement for a lighter aircraft, with Aero's design, the Ae 50, considered the best of the proposals.Template:Sfn<ref group="lower-alpha">The Praga E-55 was built to meet the requirement for a larger aircraft powered by a Walter Minor 6-III.Template:Sfn</ref> The Ae 50 was a high-wing monoplane of all metal construction, of pod and boom arrangement, with a fuselage that terminated abruptly immediately aft of the crew cabin, leaving the tailplane to be mounted on a single boom attached to the wing.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn It had a fixed, tail-wheel type undercarriage, with the tailwheel mounted at the rear of the fuselage.Template:Sfn The wings were fitted with flaps and leading-edge slots.Template:Sfn
Construction of a prototype began in mid-1948, and it was first flown on 14 April 1949.Template:Sfn Initial testing identified a number of problems, including problems with the aircraft's undercarriage, poor directional control during take-off, and crucially, that the aircraft was significantly overweight. The aircraft underwent numerous changes to fix the aircraft's problems, including a larger rudder and modified wing slots and while these resolved many of the aircraft's problems, the aircraft remained overweight.Template:Sfn It was handed over to the Czechoslovak Ministry of Defence for testing against the specification in October 1949, but on 13 June 1950, the Czechoslovak government decided to abandon development of observation aircraft, in order to concentrate the aircraft industry on license-production of Soviet combat aircraft. Flight testing continued slowly after this decision and was not completed until January 1953. After testing was complete, it was retained without being flown further for two years before being scrapped.Template:Sfn