| RSV.26/100, RSV.18/100, RSV.26/18, and SV-18 | |
|---|---|
| Role | touring aircraft |
| National origin | Belgium |
| Manufacturer | Stampe et Vertongen, Gates Aircraft |
| 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 Gates Aircraft 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 a fresh design.[1]
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 Renard engine of 100 hp 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; powered by a 140-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, Wright Tuttle Motors was negotiating a license to build the Renard 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 George Ivanow 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.
Data from Jouhaut 1999, p.58
General characteristics
Performance
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