Encouraged by friends and previous customers,
Marcel Jurca developed the MJ-51 in 1969 as an improved, higher power Sirocco. It has a longer, more rounded, stronger
fuselage capable of engines up to and the wings of the
MJ-7 Gnatsum without
dihedral. Other changes include a raised rear seat, a longer canopy and a smaller tail. Jurca said that it was his favourite two-seat design. There are two variants - the
MJ-51B for engines of , and the
MJ-51C for engines from up to . Three examples have been started, each varying from the basic design in collaboration with Jurca himself. Construction of the first prototype started in France in around 1981. It was to be powered by a
Lycoming AEIO-360. The builder died in 2004 and the project remains incomplete. The third aircraft was started in France in 1999 with a plan to install a
Potez engine. Transferred to a different builder, the design has been changed and strengthened to accommodate a
Lycoming AEIO-540 Other modifications will include a two-door canopy, a larger and more accessible rear seat, additional fuel tanks, advanced avionics and uprated brakes. The aircraft has yet to fly (October 2019). ==Specifications (MJ-51) ==