Menu Sign In Contact FAQ
Banner
Welcome to our forums

Slow we go! (Morane-Saulnier "Rallye", MS880B)

Since joining my new “club” here in the Frankfurt area, I am really enjoying being able to fly very different types. Very recently, another (again, rather exotic) aircraft has been added to the fleet, a Morane-Saulnier “Rallye”, MS880B. Often simply referred to as a “Morane” in Germany.

I had always wanted to fly a Morane, ever since I saw Bud Spencer (aka Carlo Pedersoli, RIP!) fly a similar one in one of his films from the late 70s. If interested, watch this:


Yesterday, I got to fly our new (for us) Rallye for a few hours (the first member of the club to do so). I essentially familiarised myself with it, well, by myself, and I have to say it was dead easy. Some notes for who is interested.

The MS880 was the first version of what would become an entire range of „Morane“ aircraft, and was introduced by Morane-Saulnier in 1959. MS ceased to exist in 1965 and the aircraft was later produced by a company called Socata.

Here is the MS880B example I get to fly now (a 1974 one):

Many old Moranes that still fly are in rather poor shape and have problems with corrosion, but this one looks very tidy to me.

Here, you can see the trademark „slats“, which automatically deploy and retract when passing through about 50 knots indicated (according to old French tradition, primary airspeed markings in the Rallye are in km/h, but I will convert them to knots here, since that, I assume, is more meaningful for most of us):

Here is the panel. Strictly VFR of course. Note the prominent ashtray below the transponder. Also note the old-school electric AI and the absence of any DG. This aircraft does not have a suction system.

The 880 model is powered by a Continental O-200 engine developing 100hp. Therefore, it comes natural to compare it with the good old Cessna 150, which is what I will do. Obviously. I do this only from the piloting perspective, not from the ownership perspective (which I don’t have).
Of course, the two aircraft look and “feel” quite different, but after all, in terms of operating cost and performance, they are similar. Also, one difference is that the MS880B does have a back seat and is approved for 3 POB, but after all, it’s still a 100hp aircraft, so in practical terms, it IS a two person aircraft only, just like the C150.

Flying qualities / control harmony: not enough experience to draw any real conclusions yet. Of course, between the two types, it’s the general decision between a stick and a yoke (I tend to prefer yokes, so as to have nothing between my legs). From my first 3 hours, I can’t say it handles particularly nicely, but the same applies for the 150 after all…
It is very very easy to land nicely. Even easier than the 150.

Cruise flight: the MS880 airframe is draggy and slow. Essentially, even at high power cruise at 4000 feet DA, the indicated airspeed will not go above 80 knots. So let’s call that 85 knots true. That’s another 12-15 knots slower than most 150s! In percental terms, that’s a lot and you really get to feel it. I would thus say that the MS880 is certainly good for flight instruction, sightseeing / evening „bimbles“ and shortish burger runs (50-100 miles max), but definitely not for real cross-country flying.

Useful load / utility: this is where the MS880 really shines in comparison with the C150. This one here weighs only 500 kgs empty (according to the last weighing report). MTOW is 770kg, so it has a whopping 270kgs of useful load. This is unrivalled by any 100hp aircraft, AFAIK. One can thus fill the tanks (96 litres useful, so a tad more than the 150), have two big blokes, some luggage and still be a little under gross weight. Impossible in a 150! 150s from the 1970s usually weigh about 520 kgs, and have an MTOW of 726kgs, making it impossible to fly them legally with two bigger blokes and anything more than 40 litres of fuel….
Also, as said above, at least in theory, one CAN fly the Morane with 3 POB. One would be restricted to somewhat longish runways and would have to put up with very slow climbs, but at least it can be done.

Cabin comfort / visibility: I am 1.83 metres tall and weigh 85 kgs (btw, lost 18kgs over the last two years!). I fit nicely into the Rallye, but I wouldn’t want to be any taller (both in terms of legroom and in terms of headroom. The same applies to the Cessna 150, so for me, in these terms, it’s a draw. Where the Morane shines is cabin WIDTH. With two on board, it’s definitely more comfortable in the Rallye than in the 150. Visibility? Well it’s a low wing aircraft, but visibility downwards is still very good. All around, thanks to the canopy, visibility is of course very good. A slight advantage for the Morane, I’d say.

Climb: Again, I haven’t tested it extensively enough to really judge it, but the impression is that it really doesn’t climb well (even worse than a 150). Why this would be I don’t know, since the empty weight is similar and the engine is the same, too, but it probably is to some degree due to the more draggy airframe. Takes ages to climb a few thousand feet with two POB…

Short field performance well, I haven’t really tested it extensively yet, but based on the fact that empty weights are similar and engine power is the same, it should be similar. However, the difference is that the Morane’s stall speed is lower (certainly to some degree thanks to the wing leading edge slats). On take-off, the Morane lifts of at 40-45 knots. On short final, it happily flies at 50 knots. These speeds are about 6-10 knots slower than the 150, and that makes a noticeable difference in such low-powered, low stall speed aircraft.

Look and feel: The Morane certainly feels like a somewhat bigger aircraft than the 150. The panel layout etc., as with any french-built aircraft, is quirky. Looks? Certainly a matter of taste… I do tend to like aircraft which are bit different than all the others. I still love looks of the Cessna 150.

Summary: of course, I am rather more the „go places“ kind of guy. Thus, the MS880 will never be my favourite type of airplane. But I sure enjoyed it so far, and will happily use it on future occasions for some „grassroots“ type of flying in the vicinity of my homebase.

Last Edited by boscomantico at 07 May 22:46
Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

Slats on a SEP! Wow! I guess only the French could come up with that. Thanks for the report, while I guess I’d be too tall (188cm / 6’2"), would be a fun thing to fly one day.

172driver wrote:

Slats on a SEP! Wow! I guess only the French could come up with that.

Ah no?



Last Edited by mh at 07 May 22:15
mh
Aufwind GmbH
EKPB, Germany

172driver wrote:

Thanks for the report, while I guess I’d be too tall (188cm / 6’2"), would be a fun thing to fly one day.

No, you aren’t. Read this: https://www.euroga.org/forums/morane-saulnier-rallye-series-morane-pilot-thread/7180

Last Edited by mh at 07 May 22:16
mh
Aufwind GmbH
EKPB, Germany
Actually the Morane has AUTOMATIC slats, just like the Me 108 and 109 , see photos. The Me 108 was built in France for a while, appeared as Nord later, so that is how the French got these slats. Vic

Me 108 :

Me 109 :

vic
EDME

Here are my slats sunning themselves at Venice Lido 2 weeks ago:

Great write up! I believe Rallyes are at their best with more HP.

Last Edited by WhiskeyPapa at 08 May 09:01
Tököl LHTL

The F16 has them, so they must be good

On the Rallye, what is the principle of operation i.e. how do they move automatically?

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

On the Rallye, what is the principle of operation i.e. how do they move automatically?

The extend by spring-loading and retract by air pressure.

ESKC (Uppsala/Sundbro), Sweden
No, no springs there, as far as I know. The slats are operated by air flow, in and out. So it´s critical to have the mechanism well maintained to work smoothly. By the way: Why change speed indicator to knots here ?? Your avionics and tablets are easily set to kph and I guess you will be quite familiar to kph in your car ? All aviation in Europe was metric till end of WW2 , OK, UK excluded. We did not see any use for any imperial instruments in the metric Yak, altitude indicator apart, there is one feet type plus the standard metric indicator installed. The metric type is quite handy and set to altitude agl in times. Vic
vic
EDME

What happens if you get asymmetric deployment?

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom
69 Posts
Sign in to add your message

Back to Top