RSV.32 | |
---|---|
RSV 32-90 | |
Role | trainer aircraft |
National origin | Belgium |
Manufacturer | Stampe et Vertongen |
Designer | Alfred Renard |
First flight | 1923 |
Primary user | Belgian Air Force [1] |
Number built | 57 [1] [2] (disputed [3]) |
The Stampe et Vertongen RSV.32 [4] was a trainer aircraft produced in Belgium in the early 1920s. [1] Designed originally for the Stampe et Vertongen flying school, [5] the Belgian Air Force became a major operator of the type, [6] where it became the first aircraft of entirely Belgian design and manufacture to enter service. [2] [3] Many others were purchased by flying clubs and private owners. [7] No RSV.32 was in existence by the end of World War II. [8]
Jean Stampe and Maurice Vertongen, veterans of World War I, founded a flying school at Deurne in 1923. [9] Their research into the training aircraft then available led them to believe that the British-built Central Centaur IV was the best choice for their school. [5] When they discovered that the Centaur IV had just ceased production, their friend, Maurice Boel, introduced them to engineer Alfred Renard, whom Stampe and Vertongen contracted to design a similar aircraft that could be built cheaply and locally. [5] Renard's response was a conventional two-bay biplane with unstaggered wings of equal span. [10] Power was provided by a radial engine in the nose. [10] The student pilot and instructor sat in tandem in a single, open cockpit [10] and communicated through a speaking tube. [11] The main units of the fixed undercarriage shared a common axle, and the tail was supported by a skid. [10] Construction was of wood throughout, braced with wire and covered in fabric, [8] and stressed to withstand rough treatment by student pilots. [12] [13] To reduce costs, many parts were interchangeable, including the struts, longerons, undercarriage legs, [13] and even the upper and lower wings. [12] Initial construction of the prototype commenced in a dance hall in Evere [2] [8] and was completed in the hangar of the Administration de l'Aéronautique [2] (the Belgian Aviation Administration) on 23 April 1923,. [13] The aircraft was registered O-BOEL in honour of the friend who introduced Renard to Stampe and Vertongen. [2] [13] After the prototype had been tested, King Albert I paid a royal visit to Stampe et Vertongen and asked for a joy ride over Antwerp in it. [8]
The RSV.32 was produced between 1923 and 1932 [2] [11] and the total number built is sometimes given as fifty-seven, [14] however Paul de Meyer, writing for Air-Britain Digest in 1980 called this number "unlikely" and "greatly exaggerated". [3] The type saw service with not only Stampe et Vertongen's school, but flying schools at Gosselies and Saint-Hubert as well. [2] The Belgian Air Force purchased nineteen examples in three batches. [6] These served until 1936, when surviving machines were sold to private owners. [8] Flying clubs that operated the type included the Antwerp Aviation Club [7] and the Aéro-Club Royal Belge. [7] At least one private owner added a third seat to the aircraft, [15] and at least three examples were converted to 2+2 seating [8] with a fuselage modification designed by Renard. [2] This latter configuration was designated the RSV.32/2X2. [2]
The RSV.32 was built in at least seven variants. The precise subtype is known for forty-one aircraft: [16]
Additionally, one RSV.32 was to be fitted with an 82-kW (110-hp) Renard engine and possibly amphibious undercarriage, but this machine was never built. [21]
Finally, note that some of these aircraft were converted from other subtypes, so the same airframe might in some cases be counted twice in the production figures. [3]
Data from Jouhaut 1999, p.33, except as noted
General characteristics
Performance
Related lists
RSV.32 | |
---|---|
RSV 32-90 | |
Role | trainer aircraft |
National origin | Belgium |
Manufacturer | Stampe et Vertongen |
Designer | Alfred Renard |
First flight | 1923 |
Primary user | Belgian Air Force [1] |
Number built | 57 [1] [2] (disputed [3]) |
The Stampe et Vertongen RSV.32 [4] was a trainer aircraft produced in Belgium in the early 1920s. [1] Designed originally for the Stampe et Vertongen flying school, [5] the Belgian Air Force became a major operator of the type, [6] where it became the first aircraft of entirely Belgian design and manufacture to enter service. [2] [3] Many others were purchased by flying clubs and private owners. [7] No RSV.32 was in existence by the end of World War II. [8]
Jean Stampe and Maurice Vertongen, veterans of World War I, founded a flying school at Deurne in 1923. [9] Their research into the training aircraft then available led them to believe that the British-built Central Centaur IV was the best choice for their school. [5] When they discovered that the Centaur IV had just ceased production, their friend, Maurice Boel, introduced them to engineer Alfred Renard, whom Stampe and Vertongen contracted to design a similar aircraft that could be built cheaply and locally. [5] Renard's response was a conventional two-bay biplane with unstaggered wings of equal span. [10] Power was provided by a radial engine in the nose. [10] The student pilot and instructor sat in tandem in a single, open cockpit [10] and communicated through a speaking tube. [11] The main units of the fixed undercarriage shared a common axle, and the tail was supported by a skid. [10] Construction was of wood throughout, braced with wire and covered in fabric, [8] and stressed to withstand rough treatment by student pilots. [12] [13] To reduce costs, many parts were interchangeable, including the struts, longerons, undercarriage legs, [13] and even the upper and lower wings. [12] Initial construction of the prototype commenced in a dance hall in Evere [2] [8] and was completed in the hangar of the Administration de l'Aéronautique [2] (the Belgian Aviation Administration) on 23 April 1923,. [13] The aircraft was registered O-BOEL in honour of the friend who introduced Renard to Stampe and Vertongen. [2] [13] After the prototype had been tested, King Albert I paid a royal visit to Stampe et Vertongen and asked for a joy ride over Antwerp in it. [8]
The RSV.32 was produced between 1923 and 1932 [2] [11] and the total number built is sometimes given as fifty-seven, [14] however Paul de Meyer, writing for Air-Britain Digest in 1980 called this number "unlikely" and "greatly exaggerated". [3] The type saw service with not only Stampe et Vertongen's school, but flying schools at Gosselies and Saint-Hubert as well. [2] The Belgian Air Force purchased nineteen examples in three batches. [6] These served until 1936, when surviving machines were sold to private owners. [8] Flying clubs that operated the type included the Antwerp Aviation Club [7] and the Aéro-Club Royal Belge. [7] At least one private owner added a third seat to the aircraft, [15] and at least three examples were converted to 2+2 seating [8] with a fuselage modification designed by Renard. [2] This latter configuration was designated the RSV.32/2X2. [2]
The RSV.32 was built in at least seven variants. The precise subtype is known for forty-one aircraft: [16]
Additionally, one RSV.32 was to be fitted with an 82-kW (110-hp) Renard engine and possibly amphibious undercarriage, but this machine was never built. [21]
Finally, note that some of these aircraft were converted from other subtypes, so the same airframe might in some cases be counted twice in the production figures. [3]
Data from Jouhaut 1999, p.33, except as noted
General characteristics
Performance
Related lists