Morane-Saulnier MS.230

what is it?

The Morane-Saulnier MS.230 aircraft was the main elementary trainer for the French Armée de l'Air throughout the 1930s. Almost all French pilots flying for the Armée de l'Air at the outbreak of World War II had had their earliest flight training in this machine. It was the equivalent of the Stearman trainer in the United States air services and the de Havilland Tiger Moth in the British Royal Air Force.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 10.7 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 207 km/htop speed
• range 579 kmwithout refuelling
• size 1,208 kgmax take-off weight
• built 1,100made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 97 years ago, in 1929.
• 🏎️Top speed is 1.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 10.7 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1929

number built

1,100

role

elementary trainer

makers

Morane-Saulnier

engines

1× Salmson 9AB

crew

2

length

6.9 m

wingspan

10.7 m

height

2.7 m

max take-off weight

1,208 kg

top speed

207 km/h

cruise speed

160 km/h

range

579 km

ceiling

5,000 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.