The Rallye series, one of
Europe's most successful light aircraft designs, developed from a
Morane-Saulnier design on French Government request , which first flew on 10
June, 1959. The Morane-Saulnier company was subsequently absorbed by the French
national aviation company SUD Aviation in 1965. Sud Aviation and later her
subsidiary "Socata" (Societé de Contruction d'Avions de Tourisme et
d'Affaires) developed a range of Rallye variants, the main version being the
two-three seat 100 hp / 75 kW MS 880B Rallye-Club. A number of other
variants introduced power plants of up to 220 hp / 165 kW. The MS-890
Rallye Commodore, the first true four-seat version, appeared in 1964 and was
declined with various power plants. 3,500 Rallyes were produced in France during
the production run that spanned more than two decades , ending in
1983,culminating with the MS 235 GT. In the late 1970s, SOCATA
licensed the Rallye to PZL of Poland. PZL named the aircraft Koliber,
polish for "Hummingbird and it is still in production. So, The
French-made Morane-Saulnier Rallye is a very familiar sight on European
airfields were it is used for training (thanks to it's very forgiving flying
characteristics), general aviation flights and glider towing.
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OO-NNA is a MS
893A Rallye Commodore 180 ( powered by a 180 HP engine), that is used for towing
the gliders, at Temploux airfield near Namur (Belgium). It was specially
made as a gift for the 50th birthday of my friend Jean-Louis, one of the
best tow pilots of my gliding club. Unfortunately, the building process
was a succession of difficulties coming more from inadequate planning than from
the conversion in itself. Having the original plane "at hand"
made the search for references easier, but suffering from the "advanced
modeller syndrome" and the fact it was intended as a gift for someone who
knows the plane even better than myself, increased my own exigence or
expectations as to accuracy, sometimes a little to far...with rather
catastrophic results, in "reworks" and of course delay. With
shame, I have to admit, I could not deliver it on time for the 50th birthday
party...
It all started
from the old Heller 1/50 Morane-Saulnier 235 GT model. The MS 235 is the
last version of the Rallye serie and it features a "heavier" fuselage
with a greater cabin and longer canopy, undercarriage with pants, squared wing
tips etc... So, to get a Commodore serie aircraft, I did the
"reverse" conversion.
This included the
following modifications: modified engine cowling - modified fuselage with
shorter cabin - new interior - scratch undercarriages - modified
wing tips - extended slats and dropped elevators - tow hook - modified and
shortened canopy - extended fin strake and various details as per
original. In fact, the only thing that was not touched was the vertical
tail.
All registrations
and markings were designed on my computer. This was my first experience
with computer home made decals and I learned a lot for future projects. As the
real aircraft is a not so clean, a real
"workhorse", the model was (or ,better, had to be) weathered. To
finish, a display stand with grass and tarmac was build to make handling
easier.
General aviation
models are not so frequently seen and I think others will follow as I enjoyed
it, although the many mishaps. Hope You like it!
(Gliding)Bob
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