Download PDF Manual - Macca's Vintage Aerodrome

Morane Saulnier 

type L 

Assembly Manual 

for ARF stand-off scale model in 1:5 scale. 

Historical data and presentation, 

including German version. 

Design and construction drawing by 

Göran Kalderén © 

1998-06-01

Morane-Saulnier type L 

Roland Garros gave this aeroplane fame 

in that he flew the first MS type L with a Hotchkiss 

machine gun and interrupter gear. He managed 

to shoot down one opponent before he himself 

was forced to land in enemy territory. The brilliant 

french solution of the interrupter gear was of 

course copied and improved by the germans and 

applied on the better known Fokker E III. 

Morane Saulnier type L was designed in 

1914, intended for surveillance and artillery observation. 

The placing of the wings in a parasol 

manner gave both the pilot and the observer an 

exellent downward view of the happenings 

below. For the benefit of forward and upward 

vision a sizeable cutout in the center wing panel 

was made. 

Also for the flying schools this was an 

excellent plane with inherent lateral stability and 

The flying school displaying numerous aircrafts. 

Morane Saulnier type L -ARF 2 

ease of control. 

The engine, a french Clerget rotary engine 

of 60 hp, gave adequate speed and a generous 

wing surface, satisfactory lift. Both the vertical 

and horizontal quidance was by all moving 

stabilator and rudder and the fuselage gave horizontal 

stability. 

Lateral control was by wing warping. The 

front wing spar is fixed by 6 upper-, landing wires 

and 6 lower- flying wires. The rear spar is 

controlled by wires running through a pulley in 

the topp wire support pylon and a actuator lever 

at the lower wire support pylon. The actuator i 

coupled to the control collumn by wires. Hence 

by moving the control collumn the wires are 

activated. 

The landing gear is tubular steel and the 

wheel shaft is supported with bungee rubbers. 

Note that the forward attachment point of the lan- 

Musée de l'Air, Paris Musée de l'Air, Paris

The german version, Pfalz E III, built under licence by Pfalz Flugzeugbau in Steyer, Germany. 

Deutsches Museum, München Deutsches Museum, München 

Deutsches Museum, München 

Morane Saulnier type L -ARF 3

ding gear struts varies from manufacturer to 

manufacturer. We have chosen the original 

french type for our model. 

Pictured is the aeroplane number 274, that 

possibly belonged to the same group as shown 

in the photo. 

The documentation available for the armament 

is only, the patent application that was 

granted 1914 to Raymond Saulnier. It is no more 

than a priciple sketch of the installation of the 

Hotchkiss machine gun and the innovative 

interrupter gear. 

The german company Pfalz Flugzeug Bau 

in Steyer, Germany, bought the licence for 

manufacturing and the pictures reveal the german 

thoroughness, displaying the fuselage construction 

in detail and a top view that gives the 

wing and tailplane outline. 

Caption on the back of the photograph: 

"Aircraft readied for land transport. Wings will 

be stored along the fuselage". 

The german model was photographed in 

1916... 

If you chose to model the german version, 

these pictures give you a fair orientation of the 

alterations. It should also be mentioned that the 

German crosses underwent noticable changes 

during the course of the war. From the original 

"Malteese cross" to a more strict angular. 

Also in Sweden this model was built under 

licence, designated Thulin type D. The swedish 

model was later improved with streamlining 

of the engine cowl - fuselage and fitted with a 95 

hp Thulin A rotary engine, a licence built Le 

Rhone engine. 

The swedish pioneer Enoch Thulin built 

the aircraft under licence, but he also improved 

the design, e.g. adding streamlining plywood 

panels from the engine cowl to the rear part of 

the cockpit. 

One aircraft was donated to Finland in 

1918 by the swedish count Eric von Rosen and 

became the first Finish military aircraft. The finish 

plane was endowned with the blue swastika 

cross, the crest of the von Rosen family, later to 

become the national insignia for Finland. 

The first licence built aircraft by Enoch Thulin in Sweden. Note the original design of the fuselage. 

Below the same aircraft exhibited in the Stockholm Trade Fair 1915. 


Prototype specifications: 

Manufacturer: Morane-Saulnier Societé de 

Constructions Aeronautics, Paris, France. 

Length: 20 ft 9 in. Span: 34 ft. Area: 172 sq ft. 

Useful load: 550 lbs. Weight loaded: 820 lbs. 

Motor 80 hp Gnome rotary. Speed max: 76 

mph. Min: 55 mph. Climb rate: 345 ft per min. 


Color details 

Most of the aircrafts had a "natural" 

finish. This means unbleached linnen fabric 

that was clear doped and then given a 

protective varnish finish that resulted in a 

yellowish (primrose) tint that bleached to a 

greyish-cream shade. 

Roundels were carried both above 

and below on the wings. Red was the outer 

circle, white and blue in the center. The 

rudder was divided into three equal fields 

with the blue foremost. 

Struts and landing gear were painted 

black. Wheel disks were black. Tires on 

some planes were white. There was also a 

black stripe all along the four corners of the 

fuselage. The plywood parts had varnished 

"natural" color. The access dor on the 

forward fuselage sides had black metal 

edging. 

The "MS" monogram was painted 

black on natural aluminum cowlings and 

white on black cowlings 


The model 

Specs:Wingspan 220 cm 86,8" 

Length 138 cm 54,5" 

Wingarea 75,6 dm² 1080 sq" 

Weight 3,9 kgs8,6 lb 

Wing Loading 52 g / dm² 17 oz/sq' 

Engine 10 cc 2-stroke 

Although this model is designed with 

wing-warping, it can be flown with rudder and 

elevator, provided that you employ a wash-out 

at the wing tips of approx. 1" (25 mm). This is 

done at the moment of rigging. 

You have received this model ARF, that 

means all the pleasant work is left to be done by 

you. 

Covering and finish 

The model is covered and painted from 

the factory. When you have made changes in 

the fire wall and adapted the dummy engine to 

fit in front of the engine, you will have to cover 

the open areas with fuel proof paint. 

Installation of engine. 

The engine mounts have been installed 

in a unusual fashion for several reasons. The 

need for adequate cooling. The access to the 

glow plug without hole in the cowl and finally to 

get the carburator in line with the center of the 

tank. 

1. Remove the engine mounts and drill and tap 

the holes for the engine. Place the engine as 

close to the fire wall as possible. If you have to 

relocate the engine mounts, you can do so and 

the blind nuts are not secured with glue. Should 

you desire to install a 4-stroke engine you may 

have to make an opening in the firewall for the 

carburator and a small "box" so that no fuel 

spreads into the fuselage. On the full size plane, 

the carburator is licated between the two air 

intake tubes! 

2. Drill the holes from the tank to the carburator, 

preassure nipple and the filling cap. 

3. Install the engine and connect the throttle 

servo. 

4. Make cut outs in the dummy engine so that 

this will fit in front of your engine. You may have 

to remove 1 complete cylinder to allow for the 

cooling air to pass the engine head. This 

"surgery" is executed by removing a little at the 

time and checking. When you are satisfied with 

the fit and openings, screw the dummy engine 

onto the engine mounts using 3 mm screws and 

washers. 

5. Reinstall the engine cowl using 3 #2 sheet 

metal screws. 

Installation of servos, tank, battery and receiver. 

The aileron servo is installed in the servo mount 

in the bottom of the fuselage. 

The trottle servo and the rudder servo are 

installed in the lower servo tray. The tank is 

positioned crosswise in front of these servos. 

The elevator servo is is installed inverted in 

the upper tray. 

Battry pack and receiver are positioned in the 

upper tray. 

The switch is mounted on the dash board. 

1. Attach a ball link head to joystick and 

rudder bar in the appropriate holes. You may 


have to enlarge the holes to take the screw from 

the ball link (Dubro #189 set of 2). 

2. Install the servos for rudder and 

elevator and temporarily connect the servo arms 

to the ball links. Deflection for elevator is 20° up 

and down and for rudder 30° right and left.. 

3. Install and connect the throttle servo 

in the fashion you prefer. 

4. Install the tank in the available space in front 

of the rudder and throttle servos.. 

5. Install the aileron servo in the lower 

part of the fuselage and connect the two wires 

from the warping actuator to the srvo arm. Use 

the cerulets provided. Stretch the wire and crimp 

the cerulets. Make sure that the servo arm and 

the actuator arm are parralell. 

6. Fasten the upper servo tray and make 

the final connections. 

7. Install the radio switch on the 

dashboard. 

8. Place the receiver and the battery 

pack in the upper tray, wrapped in foam rubber 

and secure with rubber bands. 

Assembly and rigging 

There are 30 pcs of rigging wire fittings 

consisting of 2 mm Ø threaded bar stock soldered 

to wire eylets. On each there is a 2 mm 

locking nut. 

Landing wires (top of the pylon) 6 pcs 

the rest have one kwick-link added. 

Flying wires 6 pcs 

Warping wires 12 pcs 

Elevator wires 4 pcs 

Rudder wires 2 pcs 

All wires are fixed at one of their locations and 

cut to proper length. 

Start with the control wires. The drawing 

indicates the location. Insert the wire with kwick 

link into the hole in the joy stick. The rudder wires 

ar fixed to the rudder bar and need only to be 

clipped onto the rudder horn. Note that the elevator 

wires are crossed in the fuselage. 

The wing rigging starts with the landing 

wires wich are fixed to the wings. Add the fittings 

to the tower threading a nut halfway in. Alternate 

left and right starting from the front / inner 

positions. Proceed as described earlier. Proceed 

with the flying wires, and attaching the fitting to 

the locations on the fuselage. 

The lower warping wires are fitted to pulleys. 

The upper wires are moving freely in the pulley. 

The lower wires are turned around and locked 

to the pulleys front and aft. Note that the inner 

lower warping wires are fixed to the fuselage. 

Covering and finish 

The model is covered and painted from 

the factory. However where you remove material 

from the dummy engine, you have to cover 

the areas with fuel proof paint. 

The original aeroplane was covered with linen 

fabric and coated several times with dope. This 

gave a translucent, very glossy finish. 

The insignia (roundels on the wing upper 

and under sides) are painted with enamel. Same 

paint is used on the rudder. 

Balancing 

The center of gravity / balancing point should be 

approx. 4" = 10 cm from the leading edge of the 

wing, and make adjustments if necessary. 

Flying 

The photographs on the last page show 

flying with one model. Our model has been fitted 

The rigging wires 

Wing landing wires 

Wing warping wires 

Wing flying wires 




with Super Tigre Blue Head .60 with more than 

enough power. It is advisable to fit an engine that 

does not protrude to far forward or some 

alterations have to be made in the fire wall. 

Let the engine swing a 14x4 propeller if 

possible. This gives better thrust outside the big 

cowl and reduces sound to a more realistic level. 

Flying characteristics are very forgiving 

but the aerobatic manoeuvers limited. Set the 

elevator at zero angle to the wing for the first 

flight but be prepared to give down elevator if the 

model climbs out too steep. This model should 

fly of the ground and not be pulled by the propeller. 

Ground handling, taxiing, on hard surface 

is difficult in anything but calm weather, because 

the model will weather-vane into the wind. 

Take-off should be done straight into the 

wind and the take-off run is relatively short. Make 

corrections with elevator and rudder. The wingwarping 

during take-off is slow and not so 

effective but in flight responsive enough. Turns 

should be executed using both wing-warping and 

rudder. 

Use gentle handling during approach and 

make the landing straight into the wind. On the 

ground, taxing, unless very calm weather, 

should only be attempted with assistance at the 

wing tips (as per prototype). Note that the gliding 

ratio with the engine throttled back, is very 

steep. Airplanes from this period usually had a 

very steep approach for landing. 

The model can be used for bomb 

dropping and there is ample weight allowance. 

The prototype had an over all weight of 3,9 kgs 

rendering a wing loading of approx. 17 oz/sq foot 

(52 g/dm²), which is a guaranty for slow and 

gentle flying. 

Happy landings! 

The Hotchkiss machinegun was installed 

on some aircraft with syncronisation shown 

earlier. 


Servo installation 

The sketches below show a typical servo installation. 

The pushrods from the servos connect to the joy stick 

and the rudder bar with a kwick-link as shown or, with 

a ball link which gives a somewhat smother actuation. 

Wingwarping set up and wing warping servo installation 

Note that the servos are inverted in the tray and that 

the pushrods come out under the servo tray. The position 

of the tank, receiver and accu are optional and to 

the builders discression. The radio switch is 

conveniently mounted on the instrument panel 

Number 1 servo is the elevator servo, to be connected 

with the joy-stick. 

Number 2 servo is the rudder servo, to be 

connected with the rudder bar. 

Number 3 servo is the trhrottle servo to be 

connected forward through the firewall 

with the carburator/throttle arm. 

The wing warping servo is installed in the vertical tray 

above the lower pylon. Wires are connected from the 

servo arm to the arm of the actuator with the 2 pulleys. 

Neutral servo should render horisontal actuator arm. 

Wires to the 

servo arm 



Actuator arm 

The lower wing warping wires are looped half a turn 

around the pulley befor being led to the attachment 

points in the wing under side. There are two sets of 

wires which both are treated the same way. When 

there are 2 pulleys, the forward pulley is used for the 

shorter wire pair. 

Wing warping 

lower pulley

Landing gear suspension, bunge rubber installation 

The rubberband is laced as illustrated so that 

the wheel shaft is tight against the lower part of the 

shaft support. The more you stretch the rubber the 

harder the spring action will be. 

Tail skid bunge rubber installation 

The rubberband is attached at the 2 screws as 

illustrated. The more you stretch the rubber the harder 

the spring action will be. 

Rigging of upper pylon and lower wingwarping 

wires 

The upper landing wires are attached to the pylon in 

the sequence illustrated (1-6). Start with the outer 

wires and make sure that the wing is parrallel and 

perpendicular to the pylon. 

The upper wing warping wires are through the pulley 

in the upper pylon as illustrated. Start with the outer 

wires and make sure that the wing is given approx. 1 

inch washout (dihedral at the trailing edge) at the 

wingtips. Make sure that the wires run freely in the 

pulley. 

1.Outer left landing wire 

2.Outer right 

landing wire 

4.Center right 

landing wire 

3.Center left landing wire 

6.Inner right landing wire 

5.Inner left landing wire 

Outer left wing 

warping wire 

Inner left wing 

warping wire 

Outer right wing 

warping wire 

Inner right 

wing warping wire

What is in the box: 

The ARF kit contains the parts shown in the 

picture. All the rigging wires are supplied in 

the correct lengths and need only to be clipped 

to their positions. 

8 

1 

5 

4 

9 

7 

2 

6 

3 

10 

1. Fuselage with wing cabane and wingwarping 

pylons 

2. Landing gear 

3. Scale wheels 

4. Engine cowl 

5. Dummy engine with mount 

6. Scale propeller 

7. Tail skid assy. 

11 

8. Rudder 

9. Elevator 

10. Left wing panel 

11. Right wing panel 

12. Wires, turnbuckles and hardware for 

assembly (not shown) 

13. Assembly manual with scale 

documentation (not shown) 

K&W 

Model 

Airplanes Inc. 

P.O.Box 1229, Cebu City Centrl. Postoffice 

Cebu City 6000, Philippines 

Visiting address: 

3343 Gun-Ob, Kinalumsan, 

Lapu-Lapu City 6015, PHILIPPINES 

Phone +63 32-340 7147, Cellular +63 917-3200 985 

Telefax +63 32-340 7131, E-mail: kwmairpl@gsilink.com

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