Marcel Jurca Mj-80 Zk-zfw

[K5054NZ]

News, Classic Wings issue 61
BUTCHER BIRD DOUBLE ACT
Zac Yates' latest warbird was unveiled in grand style at Easter – by opening the Warbirds Over Wanaka airshow! The aircraft in question is a Marcel Jurca MJ-80, a full-scale replica of the famous Focke-Wulf Fw.190.
Zac had been working on the P&W R1830-powered aircraft in total secrecy for three years, and flew out of a private farm strip near Wanaka to keep its existence unknown. On the Saturday morning of the show the aircraft, in company with Flug Werk AG's FW.190A-8/N D-FWWC (specially imported for this appearance), flew straight at the crowd to open the show with a spectacular display.
Registered ZK-ZFW, the MJ-80 is set to be based at historic Omaka Aerodrome, near Blenheim, along with the rest of Zac's historic aircraft. Not one to rest on his laurels, Zac revealed after his display that a New Zealand syndicate has been organised to operate a Flug Werk FW.190D "Dora", the ultimate variant of the Butcher Bird. This very exciting aircraft, likely to be based at Ardmore, is due to arrive in June.
Our coverage on the latest Wanaka show begins on page 36.



Register Reflections, Classic Wings issue 61
ZK-ZFW   Marcel Jurca MJ-80, 87190, 1.1.08, Zac Yates, 87 Aerodrome Road, Blenheim, NZ



Classic Wings feature, issue 62
MAKE-BELIEVE BUTCHER BIRD
By Graham Orphan, photos by Craig Justo
The full-scale replica warbirds designed by Frenchman the late Marcel Jurca are only now beginning to become fully accepted by the aviation community across the world. First it was the MJ-100 Spitfire, and now the MJ-80/Fw.190 can be seen at airshows and fly-ins all over the globe.
The first of this very attractive and practical reproduction warbird to take to the skies was Ulrich Bronner's example in Germany. This was soon followed by the aircraft of Americans Frank Schumpert and John Rummel, both of these aircraft flying happily in their respective home states. Several others have since taken wing across the globe.


Zac Yates enjoying the Marlburian skies in his gorgeous Fw.190A-8 replica, ZK-ZFW. This is the third of the design to take to the air.

Until now, the Southern Hemisphere had yet to have one of these aircraft grace its skies. But his has changed after the MJ-80 of Blenheim-based pilot and collector Zac Yates took to the air after a three-year construction process. The aircraft made a spectacular and totally unexpected debut at this year's Warbirds Over Wanaka International Airshow, flying in tight formation with Flug Werk AG's first new-build Fw.190, D-FWWC. As could be seen during the very tidy display, the Jurca aircraft could more than hold its own with the more traditionally constructed Flug Werk machine, Zac saying that at times he had to throttle back considerably to avoid overtaking his leader. Once it had landed, the aircraft attracted a considerable amount of curious spectators, all extremely keen to see this brand-new warbird close up.
As with the other three MJ-80s built worldwide, ZK-ZFW is powered by a Pratt & Whitney R.1830 radial producing 1250hp – more than ample power for the largely wooden aircraft. A DC-3 propeller replaces that of the original 190s, and more modern brakes and off-the-shelf mainwheels are utilised. A GPS system has been craftily included, and like the radios it is hidden away behind period consoles when the aircraft is on the ground. An exception to this modernity is the tailwheel, one of several dozen originals found in Germany in the mid-1990s. The design can be made to take a passenger as well as the pilot, but Zac opted to have his machine as a single seater for the time being. The aircraft is built of mainly wooden construction, following the method used in his Jurca MJ-100 Spitfire (configured as the prototype, K5054), with fabric-covered control services. Plenty of panels means easy servicing, a must with a vintage engine.



"Performance is pretty comparable to the real 190 and the P-51D, with similar cruise and landing speeds," says Zac. "The aircraft is a real delight to handle, smooth in all axes and really, really fun to aerobat. Formation flying is terrific, but I imagine it would be less than stable as a gun platform, as it can be quite twitchy. But that might just be due to the construction of my example."
Another addition to Zac's MJ-80 is a pair of butane guns, fitted in the wing roots. Similar to those in the Ardmore-based Bf108, these can be fired in flight to simulate cannon fire, and are a big hit with the crowds. Provision has even been made for a period drop tank, should the need for a long ferry flight arise.



Since its first flight in March, ZFW has logged nearly 100 flying hours, and Zac says he couldn't be happier with his newest baby. "Having been fortunate enough to fly one of the Flug Werk machines a few years ago, I just new I had to have one! Unfortunately all of those machines have been snapped up by museums or extremely happy owners, and wartime wrecks just don't come onto the market any more. I was a little apprehensive about starting another wooden replica, but in my case the end has certainly justified the means! She is a fantastic aircraft and whenever I have a nice day to spare I'm off to her hangar like a shot!"



Several MJ-80 projects have been started across Australia, and another two are very close to completion in New Zealand. Added to this is the imminent arrival of The Dora Collective's Flug Werk FW.190D-9/N at Ardmore in June, and the future for the Butcher Bird downunder is certainly looking rosy!

[Shasper]

Sweet look!

Shas B)

[Brian da Basher]

Yowsa Zac you've certainly been taking your vitamins! Not just one but TWO wizzard builds back-to-back! You've really got a knack for painting that Luft camo by hand! How do you do it? Dry-brush technique? Magic? Regardless this is a beautiful build and the yellow wingtips, rudder and lower cowl markings really make this one shine!

As a good friend of mine would say:

"BRILLLIAAAAANNNNT!"

Brian da Basher

[cthulhu77]

Looking good !  Love that camo scheme.

[ysi_maniac]

Yes I like this, always difficult, luftwaffe camo work

[Chap]

Zac, she looks lovely. The propeller suits the "butcher bird" nicely, and the camo looks great.

~Steve

[matrixone]

Very nice Focke-Wulf Zac!

Makes me want to start on some of mine, but I can't because the new Dora book by Jerry Crandall won't be out until mid-summer and Vol. 2 of the JaPo Fw 190D camouflage book may not be available until next winter and I swore to not build another Fw 190 until one or both of those books are available. And the camouflage of those late war Fw 190s is something that is important to me.
But thats O.K. because there are plenty of what-ifs to work on including a He 100 H-1 and a P-40.

Matrixone

[K5054NZ]

Guys, you really are too kind. It's the kit that's good, not me. Thank you, RoG! I'd build another of these in a heartbeat (I'm going to, I just need to get my hands on one. I'll be doing a R/W Flug Werk example). Gorgeous wee kit, fantastic quality decals, great details too!

Re the mottling on both this baby and Dora, I sorta drybrush with an old medium-sized brush. Works good enough for me!

Shasper, promise me you'll try and find that baby again! Don and his wife Linda have been working on it for some time, and I'm keenly awaiting any news she's flown at last.

Matrix, you're doing a P-40? There is a God! Keep us posted, dude!