Socata Rallye MS 880B EI-BFR

In the car world, a classic is a vehicle over 30 years old. There will be someone who wants to connect with a different part of their life, who enjoys the simplicity of a Rallye MS880B. When they were launched, they were the de facto trainer in Europe, and they made up core memories for so many people. When the famous Socata demo pilot Maurice Serée demonstrated them at airshows, he could showcase the stability of it by flying it standing on the seat, and then landing on a roll of carpet just 20 metres long!

There is a general consensus about Rallye’s: if it’s still flying, it must be a good one. EI-BFR has been well maintained by the current owner, who simply wanted to try a bigger engine Rallye variant, hence the sale of the MS880B. The aircraft is just back from a 100hr Annual/ARC at 3440hrs TTAF, so the next ARC/Annual is due July 2026. The 100hp Continental O-200-A engine has 1291hrs SMOH on 12th May 1995 by Mercury Aero Engines. The aircraft has a McCauley 1A101DCM6948 metal prop with 392hrs SPOH in Jan 2011 by Brinkley. The owner has fitted a Trig TY-96 Com with is 8.33khz and has an intercom for the front seats. The transponder is a Narco AT-150, and that’s about all you need with a chart (or an iPad) on your knee!

If you are after the same look and feel that you would have experienced in aviation from a different era, then the paint and interior will give you the immersive experience that you are flying something from a simpler time. The decals on the aircraft all seem original, which suggests EI-BFR is exactly as it left the factory in Tarbes in 1973. For someone with a hangar space and a desire to reconnect with a different era, or a past part of their flying logbook, this aircraft will certainly pull the heartstrings.