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Tourer/trainer aircraft
SOCATA Rallye family is a tourer/trainer aircraft originating in France. It was built by SOCATA.
FranceAI-generated illustration · Not a photograph · Source-pictured French naval SOCATA Rallye exterior in static ground configuration; appearance follows the actual displayed source airframe, with no military mission fittings inferred. Exterior details are illustrative, not specification evidence.
ForceTally · AI-generated illustration · Not a photograph; adapted from Duch.seb · CC BY-SA 3.0 · https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Morane-Saulnier_Rallye_-_Marine.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0 · AI-generated adaptation · Source ↗ · ModifiedTourer/trainer aircraft
France
SOCATA
~3,300
1961–1982
1961
10 June 1959
one
three passengers
7.24 m (23 ft 9 in)
9.74 m (31 ft 11 in)
2.8 m (9 ft 2 in)
12.3 m 2 (132 sq ft)
NACA 63A416
570 kg (1,257 lb)
1,050 kg (2,315 lb)
× Lycoming O-360-A3A 4-cylinder air-cooled horizontally-opposed piston engine, 134 kW (180 hp)
2-bladed variable-pitch propeller
240 km/h (150 mph, 130 kn)
225 km/h (140 mph, 121 kn)
92 km/h (57 mph, 50 kn)
1,300 km (810 mi, 700 nmi)
3,600 m (11,800 ft)
3.85 m/s (758 ft/min)
85.4 kg/m 2 (17.5 lb/sq ft)
0.13 kW/kg (0 hp/lb)
The SOCATA Rallye (English: Rally ) is a light aircraft that was manufactured by French aviation company SOCATA .
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.
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.
The aircraft's power was provided from one of a range of progressively more powerful air-cooled engines; such as the early Rallye Cub model, which was powered by a 100 hp (75 kW) Continental O-200-A engine, while the newer Rallye 235 variant was furnished with a 235 hp (175 kW) Lycoming O-540 engine.
The Rallye was fitted with a bulbous cockpit, which was capable of accommodating two/three people in the basic lower-powered variants and up to four personnel within the more powerful models of the aircraft, some of which were designed to function as glider tugs and banner bearers . The canopy slides rearwards to provide access to and from the cockpit, aided by a step located just underneath the wing's trailing edge; on the ground. On the ground, the canopy should remain slightly open when occupied to allow for adequate airflow; in flight, the canopy can be left open at speed up to a maximum of 94 knots.
Two-seat prototype powered by 90 hp (67 kW) Continental C90-14F , conventional landing gear , 1 built.
Production version of MS.880B with 100 hp (75 kW) Continental O-200-A , 1,100 built.
105 hp (78 kW) Potez engine. 12 built. Two-seat aircraft.
115 hp (86 kW) Lycoming engine. 77 built. Two-seat aircraft.
Two/three-seat version; first flight 1 January 1961. 145 hp (108 kW) Continental O-300 engine. 212 built.
150 hp (110 kW) Lycoming engine. Three built.
Two-seat trainer powered by 100 hp (75 kW) Rolls-Royce Continental O-200-A , 55 built.
100T with three or four seats, 45 lb (20 kg) gross weight increase, 45 built.
Four-seat version of 100-T, powered by 125 hp (93 kW) Lycoming O-235 .
Four-seat Rallye 100ST, increased gross weight, enlarged tail, 150 hp (110 kW) Lycoming 0-320-E2A , 25 built.
Improved Rallye 100ST powered by 110 hp (82 kW) Lycoming O-235-L2A , 76 built. Can be operated as a three/four-seat aircraft if spins are prohibited.
Improved version of Rallye 150ST with 155 hp (116 kW) Lycoming O-320-D2A , 5 built.
Improved version of Rallye 150T with 180 hp (130 kW) Lycoming O-360-A3A , 5 built, sold by Waco in US.
The first version to incorporate four-place seating. 145 hp (108 kW) Continental engine. Eight built.
Similar to the MS.890 but with 150 hp (110 kW) Lycoming 0-320 engine. Later designated Rallye 150 .
180 hp (130 kW) Lycoming O-360 engine. Later designated Rallye 180 . Further redesignated SOCATA Gaillard or SOCATA Galérien (glider towing version).
220 hp (160 kW) Franklin 6A-350 engine. Later designated Rallye 220 . Some assembled and sold as Waco Minerva in US. 211 built.
Powered by 235 hp (175 kW) Lycoming O-540 . Redesignated SOCATA Gabier .
Enlarged 7-seat version, 300 hp (220 kW) Lycoming IO-540-K engine, two prototypes built.
Initial licence production version powered by PZL licensed 116 hp (87 kW) Franklin 4A-235 , based on Rallye 100 ST. Production 32 aircraft.
150 hp (110 kW) Lycoming O-320 engine.
160 hp (120 kW) Lycoming O-320 engine.
235 hp (175 kW) Lycoming O-540 engine.
Capacity: three passengers
Length: 7.24 m (23 ft 9 in)
Wingspan: 9.74 m (31 ft 11 in)
Height: 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 12.3 m 2 (132 sq ft)
Empty weight: 570 kg (1,257 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 1,050 kg (2,315 lb)
Powerplant: × Lycoming O-360-A3A 4-cylinder air-cooled horizontally-opposed piston engine, 134 kW (180 hp)
Maximum speed: 240 km/h (150 mph, 130 kn)
Cruise speed: 225 km/h (140 mph, 121 kn)
Stall speed: 92 km/h (57 mph, 50 kn)
Range: 1,300 km (810 mi, 700 nmi)
Service ceiling: 3,600 m (11,800 ft)
Rate of climb: 3.85 m/s (758 ft/min)
Reference text from Wikipedia contributors, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
True scale
Sourced dimensions beside a 1.75 m human reference.
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SOCATA Rallye family equipment records. Variants, orders and quantities are shown as reported in each inventory source; coverage is incomplete.
MoroccoGendarmerie Royale exact named equipment holdings: R-235 Guerrier. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: AIRCRAFT / TRG. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
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