French homebuilt aircraft prototypes & unbuilt designs

[Jemiba]

I cannot resist to come up with one of my favourite aircraft again, which was intended to be sold as
a kit plane, or maybe even just in the form of plans: The Morane Saulnier MS.660 (Honestly I don't know,
why I have such a devotion to it, maybe because it already cost me lots of hours, work and headaches).
This single seat/single engine aircraft was to be built from wood, all components designed in a way, that
"construction was possible on a standard kitchen table. The first and only prototype flew in 1946, powered
by a Train 4E01 engine. Another version fitted with an Aster engine was designated MS.661 and differed from
the original type in several aspects: More rounded shape of fuselage and cowling, landing gear, cabin doors
and windshield, probably making it more difficult for an amateur to build it at home, so this version may have
been intended for factory production.

 

[Stargazer]

Jens, though the type itself was meant to be homebuilt, Morane was nowhere near a homebuilt manufacturer. It was a well-established major manufacturer since World War I!

 

[Jemiba]

Well, ok, it depends on definition. Jodel, for example was building complete aircraft,
but also selling plans and their D.9 Bebe still is regarded as a homebuild, as usually
only plans for it were sold.

 

[cluttonfred]

I'm with Jens on this one in that if it's intended for amateur construction it belongs here, whether designed by an individual or a big company.

It so happens that I have a whole folder full of what I call my "8' designs," homebuilts made of components short enough to ship via ordinary parcel service and subassemblies no larger that 8' x 4' x 2' for easy storage. I'd love to learn more about the MS.660 and variants, by PM if you think it's too much detail for the forum.

Cheers,

Matthew

 

[Stargazer]

I'm at a loss to find any information on this one-off prototype, which is mentioned briefly on this webpage.
It is described as a "flying camper van" concept, and a "Magallon" type, which I suppose refers to Roland Magallon, one of the foremost pioneers of ultralight flying, but unfortunately no search I've tried has brought up any more than the little I have.



NOTE: Roland Magallon also designed a flying car, a video of which can be seen here.