Stampe et Vertongen RSV.26/100
RSV.26/100, RSV.18/100, RSV.26/18, and SV-18 | |
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Role | touring aircraft |
National origin | Belgium |
Manufacturer | Stampe et Vertongen, |
Designer | Alfred Renard |
First flight | 1928[1] |
Number built | 11[2] |
The Stampe et Vertongen RSV.26/100, RSV.18/100, RSV.26/18, and SV.18 were a family of two-seat touring aircraft designed by Alfred Renard and built by Stampe et Vertongen in Belgium in the 1920s[1] and under license by in the United States as the Gates Convertiplane.[3] Originally designed as a biplane, a monoplane version soon followed, and the aircraft was eventually marketed as convertible between the two configurations.[4] Sometimes described as a lightened version of the RSV.26/140 military trainer, the RSV.26/100 was actually a fresh design.[1]
Design and development[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Stampe_et_Vertongen_RSV_18-100_Annuaire_de_L%27A%C3%A9ronautique_1931.jpg/220px-Stampe_et_Vertongen_RSV_18-100_Annuaire_de_L%27A%C3%A9ronautique_1931.jpg)
In 1928, Stampe et Vertongen contracted Alfred Renard to design an aircraft with which the firm could compete in the emerging touring aircraft market, which in Belgium was dominated by British types.[1] His response was a conventional, single-bay biplane with staggered wings of equal span.[5] The pilot and passenger sat in tandem open cockpits and power was provided by a radial engine in the nose.[5] The fixed undercarriage consisted of main units braced to one another, and a skid to support the tail.[5] At the time, Stampe et Vertongen designated their aircraft with two numbers: the wing area (measured in square metres) and the engine power (measured in horsepower).[6] Renard's new design had a wing area of 26 m² and was to be powered by a 75 kW (100 hp) Renard Type 100 and was therefore designated RSV.26/100.[1] Two years previously, the firm had introduced a training biplane for the Belgian Air Force that also had a wing area of 26 m2 (280 sq ft); powered by a 75 kW (100 hp) engine, it had been designated the RSV.26/140.[7] The similar designations caused confusion in the aviation press, but Renard insisted that the RSV.26/140 and RSV.26/100 were two distinct aircraft.[8]
With monoplanes becoming more popular, Stampe et Vertongen considered the possibility of marketing a version of the RSV.26/100 in this configuration.[4] Renard was able to realise this design by removing the lower pair of wings and bracing the upper pair of wings to the fuselage with two struts on each side.[9] The resulting aircraft, having lost 8 m² of wing area, was now designated the RSV.18/100.[4] The monoplane version was a little faster than the biplane, but climbed a little more slowly.[4] With the differences between the two configurations so minimal that one could be converted to the other within one hour, Stampe et Vertongen decided to market the type as a convertible, the RSV.26/18.[4]
At the time, was negotiating a license to build the Renard Type 100 engine in the United States.[10] The firm also purchased an RSV.26/100 and exported it, where it came to the attention of their client, Ivan R. Gates.[10] Gates was an exponent of light aviation and was so interested in the type that he not only purchased the first RSV.26/18, but a few weeks later, bought a license to produce it in the United States.[10] Gates established a factory at Long Island[3] and had engineer Nathan F. Vanderlip redesign the fuselage to change it from wooden construction to steel-tube construction.[10] However, only two aircraft were built[11] before the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ruined the company and Gates himself, who committed suicide as a result.[3] Three or four fuselages survived, one of which was used as a chicken coop as recently as 1975.[3]
The onset of the Great Depression also halted Stampe et Vertongen's production of the type.[1] After joined the firm, he made one final attempt to market the design, modifying the RSV.18/100 (OO-AKG) to use a de Havilland Gipsy III engine[12] and rebuilding the fuselage and empennage along similar lines to the SV.4.[11] Marketed first as the SV.18M (Modification) tourer,[12] then further modified and marketed as the SV.18MA (Modification Armée) fighter-trainer,[12] no further production ensued.
Variants[]
- RSV.26/100
- biplane version with Renard Type 100 engine (5 built)[4]
- RSV.18/100
- monoplane version with Renard Type 100 engine (1 built)[13]
- RSV.26/18
- convertible version with Renard Type 100 engine (2 built)[11]
- Gates Convertiplane
- American variant of RSV.26/18 with Renard Type 100 engine and fuselage of steel tube construction (2 built)[11]
Specifications (RSV.26/100)[]
Data from Jouhaut 1999, p.58
General characteristics
- Crew: 1 pilot
- Capacity: 1 passenger
- Length: 7.10 m (23 ft 3 in)
- Wingspan: 9.36 m (30 ft 8 in)
- Height: 2.73 m (8 ft 11 in)
- Wing area: 26 m2 (280 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 484 kg (1,060 lb)
- Gross weight: 747 kg (1,640 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Renard Type 100 , 75 kW (100 hp)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 168 km/h (104 mph, 90 kn)
- Range: 640 km (400 mi, 350 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 4,600 m (15,000 ft)
- Rate of climb: 6.0 m/s (1,000 ft/min)
Notes[]
- ^ a b c d e f Jouhaud 1999, p.51
- ^ Jouhaud 1999, p.53,56
- ^ a b c d Jouhaud 1999, p.55
- ^ a b c d e f Jouhaud 1999, p.53
- ^ a b c Jouhaud 1999, p.52
- ^ Hauet 1984, p.9
- ^ Jouhaud 1999, p.36
- ^ Hauet 1984, p.22
- ^ Jouhaud 1999, p.57
- ^ a b c d Jouhaud 1999, p.54
- ^ a b c d Jouhaud 1999, p.56
- ^ a b c d e Dillien 2011, p.51
- ^ OO-AKG is the only member of this family of aircraft that Jouhaud (1999, p.59) notes as having been built in permanent monoplane configuration.
- ^ OO-APC (Hauet 1984, p.24). De Maeyer (1980, p.6) describes this as a conversion
References[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stampe et Vertongen RSV.26/100. |
- de Mayer, Paul (January–February 1980). "Built in Belgium: Part 1". Air-Britain Digest. 32 (1): 3–6.
- Dillien, André (2011). "Serie OO-AAA -> OO-AZZ". Registre historique de la matricule aéronautique civile belge. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
- Hauet, André (1984). Les avions Renard. Brussels: Éditions AELR.
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing.
- Jouhaud, Reginald (1999). Les Avions Stampe. Amsterdam: Wimpel.
- Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.
- 1920s Belgian sport aircraft
- Stampe et Vertongen aircraft
- Biplanes
- Single-engined tractor aircraft
- Aircraft first flown in 1928