Junkers Aircraft has shown up to Sun ‘n Fun 2024 with a much-requested variation of their A50 LSA, replacing the original homage’s nose-mounted Rotax engine with a much more period accurate Scarlett 7 radial engine.
The new model is called the A50 Heritage, differentiating it from the Rotax-powered version that caught so much attention in 2023.
It’s understandable why the firm started out with the Rotax version first, despite its overall commitment to providing as much historically-accurate design as they possibly can: The Rotax is a pretty well-known, trusted, affordable, and fuel-sipping powerplant with a fairly modular footprint. Designing an aircraft around it means a wider demographic of buyers, with some extra room to grow as years pass and customers desire increasingly powerful versions of the same aircraft.
All along, however, the lines just didn’t look right to some. Junkers Aircraft put in a meticulous amount of work on the F13, remaining as historically faithful to the original as they possibly could, right on down to the half-windscreen that perplexes some buyers when they finally notice. As such it makes sense why enthusiasts expected that same attention to detail, and where a full windshield on the F13 would keep the classic lines and forms of a legendary aircraft, the rotax on a Junior changes the nose entirely, making the aircraft appear more tubular and cigar-shaped.
It’s not an ugly plane by any means, it’s been continuously popular for its handsome, simple, corrugated design since introduction - but it looks different from Hermann Pohlmann’s 1929 speedster. Now, all that hand-wringing can be put to rest. Those buyers who want the most affordable, economical, and common engine with their fun little runabout can opt for the A50 Junior and its modern rotax. Those who want historic and stylistic fidelity, a throaty radial growl, and the appearance of an interwar sport plane can grab the A50 Heritage and enjoy a true enthusiast’s plane. Either way, they’ll both have a ball.
