Proving very popular on the Continent, the ultralight Belgian-built SV4-RS imitates the original Stampe but is not (officially) aerobatic. After WWII, the Belgian-designed but French-built sleek Stampe-Vertongen SV.4C open-cockpit biplane was used extensively by the French armed forces as a training aircraft. Built under licence by SNCAN (Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Nord) and the Algeria-based Atelier Industriel de l’Aéronautique d’Alger, some 940 aircraft saw operational service within the elementary flying schools of the French Armée de l’Air (Air Force), Aéronavale (Navy) and ALAT?Aviation Légère de l’Armée de Terre, based in North Africa. Similar to the pre-WWII A-variants, C-models were equipped with a 140hp Renault 4-P engine. The Service de la Formation Aéronautique de la Direction Générale de l’Aviation Civile (Civil Aviation Directorate) also used SV.4s in their various training centres all over France (Centres Nationaux de Vol à Moteur) for initial aerobatics and instructor training. For a continuation of this report, including construction details and flight test, click here.
