page_title: SOCATA Rallye family
section_title: Development
hierarchical_section_title: SOCATA Rallye family / Development
caption_attribution_description: English: PZL-110 Koliber 160A, SP-KSR, Kielce-Masłów airfield
context_page_description: The SOCATA Rallye is a light aircraft that was manufactured by French aviation company SOCATA. It was originally developed during the 1950s by French aircraft manufacturer Morane-Saulnier as the MS.880.
  On 10 June 1959, the prototype Rallye conducted the type's maiden flight; on 21 November 1961, type certification for the first production versions of the aircraft, designated as the MS.880B and more powerful MS.885, was awarded. Successive models of the Rallye were developed and manufactured; changes typically involved the installation of more powerful engines, structural strengthening, and the expansion of some of the flight control surfaces, culminating in the MS.890 Rallye Commodore series with higher gross weight and seating for four. As part of efforts to access the lucrative North American market, distributor agreements were formed with multiple US-based companies, such as the Waco Aircraft Company and BFA Aviation, to market, sell, and service the Rallye. These efforts, while not being trouble-free, provided valuable sales of the type.
  During 1979, SOCATA decided to rename all of the Rallye series' various models, each being assigned their own individual Gallic names.
context_section_description: During 1958, in response to the launch of a French government competition seeking such an aircraft, French aviation company Morane-Saulnier decided to commence work upon the design of a new single-engined light aircraft, initially designated as the MS.880 Rallye Club. According to aerospace publication Flying Magazine, in comparison with other light aircraft of the era, was relatively slow-moving and cheap fixed-wing aircraft; specifically, the magazine lauded the Rallye as being available "for a price much lower than any true STOL [short takeoff and landing], four-place aircraft". It featured a relatively simplistic design which enabled it to be provided at a highly affordable price to customers, which, along with the aircraft's capable STOL performance, was viewed as being a highly attractive selling point, particularly to customers within the North American market.
  On 10 June 1959, the prototype Rallye, powered by a 90 hp (67 kW) engine, conducted its maiden flight. On 21 November 1961, the first production versions of the aircraft, designated as the MS.880B and more powerful MS.885, received their type certification, clearing them to perform operational flights. Thereafter, a range of improvements and alterations were progressively made upon the design as new models of the Rallye were introduced; typical advances included the adoption of more powerful engines, improved payload capability, and strengthened structure, the addition of wheel fairings, increased ground clearance for the propeller, expanded rudder and ailerons, and changes to the cockpit canopy arrangement. 
  On 19 November 1962, Morane-Saulnier filed for bankruptcy, and in January 1963 was placed under the control of Potez, which established the Société d'Exploitation des Etablissements Morane-Saulnier (SEEMS) to manage its assets. On 20 May 1965, Sud Aviation acquired SEEMS from Potez, forming Gerance de Etablissements Morane-Saulnier (GEMS). In early 1966, Sud Aviation created another new subsidiary, SOCATA, to continue development and production of the Rallye series. SOCATA continued to manufacture the Rallye in large numbers through the remainder of the 1960s and through the 1970s.
  In the late 1960s, SOCATA pursued the development of an enlarged 7-seat version powered by a 300 hp (220 kW) Lycoming IO-540-K engine, the ST.60 Rallye 7. Two prototypes were constructed: a version with retractable tricycle landing gear, first flown on 3 January 1969, and an otherwise similar aircraft with fixed landing gear. However, SOCATA was not confident that a sufficient market for the aircraft existed, and no further production ensued. SOCATA subsequently introduced the enlarged MS.890 Rallye Commodore series with a heavier airframe and four seats; production and development of the MS.880 and MS.890 series continued in parallel, and the enlarged and strengthened empennage of the MS.890 was adapted to MS.880 variants using more powerful engines and those approved for spins.
  Also in the late 1960s, United States aviation entrepreneur Alexander Berger—whose Allied Aero Industries holding company owned the Franklin Engine Company and Jacobs Aircraft Engine Company—formed a new venture to market European light aircraft under the banner of the defunct Waco Aircraft Company. Based in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, Waco made arrangements to market, sell, and service the Rallye throughout the sizable and attractive North American market, and introduced a licensed American-built version of the Rallye Commodore badged as the Waco MS.294A Minerva, powered by a 220 hp (160 kW) Franklin engine. Waco also sold the 150ST, 180CT and 235CT in the United States. However, the Rallye had little time to prove itself prior to Waco winding up its aviation activities following Berger's death in 1971. As a consequence of Waco's dissolution, third party aviation companies purchased the various leftover assets and continued to provide spare parts and services to American owners of the Rallye.
  In the early 1970s, Now York-based company BFA Aviation was appointed as the type's new distributor within Nor
caption: A PZL Koliber, 2014. Note the type's large tail fin
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