Jean Stampe

This article is about the Belgian aircraft designer Jean Joseph Stampe. A district of the municipality of Quarnbek in Schleswig-Holstein also bears the name Stampe.

Jean Joseph Stampe (born April 17, 1889 in Molenbeek , † January 15, 1978 ) was a Belgian aircraft designer.

resume

As the only son he spent his childhood in Ixelles , where his parents were settled. At the age of twelve, Jean Joseph Stampe was already enthusiastic about bicycles and motorcycles . His great idol at that time was Jan Olieslagers , who is known as the "Diable d'Anvers". In 1909 Stampe bought his first aircraft: a Blériot XI from the French aviation pioneer and aircraft manufacturer Louis Blériot . Since then he has concentrated exclusively on aviation .

At the age of 20, Jean was already married and had a son named Léon. In order to earn a living, Jean Stampe became a mechanic and helped his parents in their café. On a one-week trip to Crémona, he had an accident on his motorcycle in 1914 . His right leg was broken four times and could only be saved with great difficulty at the Crémona clinic. During the long hospital stay (over 56 days) he learned to play the mandolin , which was to remain his hobby for decades. In 1915 he joined the Belgian Air Force as a volunteer. He had to pay for board and lodging as well as the necessary flight hours to obtain the pilot's license himself.

He took flight lessons in Hendon, in north London , at an American flight school, which was the only one to teach double-steering there. His flight instructor, an Italian named Vigilio, was known to fly very low with his students, and not exactly a cornering star. After threatening his flight instructor Vigilio with the revolver because of the lamentable lessons, he finally let him fly alone. Jean Stampe received his license on January 30, 1916 . The ticket with the number RAC-UK 2353 was given to him on February 28, 1915. With a small inheritance from Maurice Vertongen and renewed paternal help, the company Stampe et Vertongen was founded on October 17, 1923 .

The Stampe SV 4 named after him was designed by him and Maurice Vertongen in 1933 and built under license by the French from the end of the Second World War . It was used by clubs and the French military as a training aircraft and aerobatic trainer.