Stampe et Vertongen SV.5 Tornado
Stampe et Vertongen · Belgium · first flew 1933 · light aircraft
The Stampe et Vertongen SV.5 Tornado was a military trainer biplane designed and built in Belgium in the 1930s. It served with the Belgian Air Force and the Latvian Air Force.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 8.04 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Conventional single-bay biplane with staggered wings of unequal span
- Pilot and instructor in tandem open cockpits
- Radial engine in the nose, enclosed in a Townend ring on the prototype
Unlike earlier Stampe et Vertongen products, the airframe was riveted together from steel tube rather than made of wood. The Latvian aircraft had a NACA cowl instead of the Townend ring and a redesigned horizontal stabiliser.
Specifications
- The Stampe et Vertongen SV.5 Tornado has a length of 8.04 m (26 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 10.52 m (35 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 272 km/h (169 mph).
- Typical crew: 2.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
It answered a 1933 Belgian Air Force requirement for a two-seat aerobatic training biplane. George Ivanow designed it as an update of the RSV.22, and the prototype first flew in September 1933.
Variants
Ivanow used it as the basis for the SV.6, SV.7 and SV.8, which had more powerful engines, and for the SV.9 with a variable-pitch propeller. Only one SV.9 was built, and it was exported to Latvia with a licence for production by VEF.
Where you'll see it
The Belgian Air Force chose the Avro 626 in 1934 for political reasons, though the SV.5 outclassed its rivals in maintainability trials. Latvia bought ten, shipped disassembled to Riga in September 1936, and the Belgian Air Force ordered twenty, delivered between October 1936 and mid-1937.
Related aircraft
- SV.4
- Stampe et Vertongen ST.26
- Stampe et Vertongen RSV.28
- Stampe et Vertongen RSV.26/100
- Albatros L 103
- ANBO VI
- Arado Ar 69
- Arup S-2
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