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N 1927, Morane Saulnier decided to make a light aircraft to democratize the practice of acrobatic flight, according to the vocabulary of the time.The prototype called MS 180, registered F-AIYH, made its first flight in early 1928, piloted by Robert Morane, but the aircraft is heavy, thin and not powerful enough to ensure the mission for which it was planned.Nevertheless, the formula seems sufficiently innovative for the NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), now NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is interested and publishes in March 1929 a report on this aircraft: the aircraft circular N 93.On the recommendations of Michel Detroyat, newly hired as test pilot, the firm Morane-Saulnier makes some minor modifications but which are decisive for its development:The Salmson 9Ad 40hp engine is replaced by a Salmson 5AC 60hp, an increase of 50 percent power.The jettison tank located at the bottom of the fuselage gives way to a fixed tank located in the upper part of the fuselage, in front of the dashboard which significantly reduces the drag.We can also see a consequence of the tests in wind tunnels (Eiffel, Meudon, Saint-Cyr)Bungee shock absorbers are replaced by a new technology at the time: the oleo-pneumatic shock absorbers developed by Messier.The modified aircraft is designated MS181.Finer, more powerful and lighter, this aircraft is an excellent aerobatic machine, so much so that the prototype is kept at the factory for Michel Detroyat until 1938. The Grand, such was his nickname, the called his Violin of Ingres.He enjoyed flying on the MS181 between two heavy and fast modern machine tests.Twelve copies of this aircraft are produced and used for the training of pilots by the Compagnie Francaise dAviation who sold 4 to the Spanish Republican government in 1937. A copy is also exhibited in static at the Museo del Aire de Madrid. |
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After the war, due to the lack of parts for the Salmson engine, it is equipped with a Franklin engine and registered F-PKFX.It was bought by Jean Salis in the 70s and sold to an American collector in Miami with the original Salmson 5AC engine.The new owner donated it to EAA Museum dOshkosh, which finally sold it in 2004 to Frederick Collinot (founder in 2006 of the Cercle des Machines Volantes), following a series of exchanges.Only this prototype F-AIYH remains today in flight state, preserved within the association - The Circle of Flying Machines. |
