When I first learned to fly in the late 80s, I was quite fascinated by Socata aircraft. The Trinidad and the Tobago were something modern in the light aircraft space which was still dominated by some older designs that felt very dated. These looked really sleek and modern at the time and, at least in my eyes, still do. However, there was a more unusual type in their stable and that was the Rallye. It was a dumpier looking airframe with a rugged looking gear. However, the thing that really stuck out was that it had slats.

These were not manually controlled but popped out when they were needed. This resulted in good controllability at low speeds. This was ably demonstrated one afternoon while I was in the flying club at Sandown Airfield on the Isle of Wight. I was chatting with one of the instructors when a Rallye came in to land. It was a bit high and was getting slower and slower. We watched with our eyes wide as it looked like we were about to witness a stall accident. We were both shouting at them to go around. However, that slatted wing kept on working and they miraculously landed without incident. Maybe they knew exactly what it could do but it really did seem like disaster was imminent.

That is a long tangent to have gone on to get to the point that, having not seen a Rallye for a long time, one came into Solent Airport while I was there. It looked in great shape as it taxied in and the couple in it cranked back the bubble canopy as they parked up. Sure, it still looks a bit chunky but now I am not comparing it unfavourably with its younger siblings and instead appreciating it for what it is – another example of cool French engineering.