AUTHOR: Guy Hulin
AUTHOR COMMENTS
A frequent visitor to many airshows, the Morane-Saulnier 505 (actually a radial-engined French-built derivative of the well-known Fieseler Storch) mostly impresses the crowds not with its speed but with its slowness ! In a reasonable headwind, it can actually fly backwards related to the ground, or touchdown with virtually no groundroll.Two Models made completely in Gmax with Dynamic shine, reflective textures, full suspension, custom 2D panel, working VC and includes 8 liveries.
HISTORY
The Storch is arguably the most famous general-purpose light aircraft ever built, certainly in the military arena. It’s STOL performance was legendary, with a normal take-off distance of only 65 metres, and a landing distance of only 25 metres. In a very famous incident, a Storch was used to rescue Benito Mussolini from a mountainside hotel in 1943. In that instance, a Storch managed to land on and take off from a balcony on the side of the hotel! Often copied but never equalled, the Storch was paid the ultimate compliment, as Allied forces used captured examples whenever possible. Several dozen were captured intact during the African campaign, and pressed into service by the British – one was Montgomery’s personal transport. Most production was undertaken in occupied countries – in France by Morane-Saulnier, and in Czechoslovakia by Mraz. After liberation, both companies saw fit to continue production, which was another testament to the excellence of the design. The Storch continued to serve for years after the end of the Second World War, until helicopters were introduced into general service. Interestingly, early helicopters such as the Sikorsky R-5 had very similar operating characteristics to the Storch, in terms of range, speed, operating ceiling and payload. However, not even a Storch could land and take off vertically.
SPECIFICATIONS
Scale: 14.25 m
Length: 9.87 m
Height: 3.06 m
Airfoil: 26.00 m²
Crew: 2
Empty weight: 860 kg
Total mass: 1470 kg
Engine: 1 Salmson-Argus HAVE 10R of 240 CH
Maximum speed: 210 km/h
Ceiling: 5900 m
COMMENT
Feel like a nice slow cruise around a bay area? This is definitely the bird to do it in. The author does a wonderful job capturing the look and feel of the graceful Storch. (Stork) The aircraft itself comes in eight beautiful liveries, all nicely done. An exceptional virtual cockpit with a 360 degree view that is simply stunning. Topped off with a very detailed instrument panel that is so close to the virtual, it’s hard to tell which is which. I was impressed with the amount of detail that went into the model, flexible landing gear, body detail, and opening door to name a few. Flight characteristics are different from any plane you may have flown in FS2004. Extremely short takeoffs and landings are possible, along with the slowest forward flight I have experienced. This model is just plain sweet. I enjoyed every moment of my time reviewing this bird and I highly recommend you download and install this exceptional model.
My Rating 9/10
