Getting to know a Stampe SV4C with Renault EP03 Engine and Air Starter

Video from the channel Paul Anderson about Stampe SV-4, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 8:30. Language: English. Video type: Onboard.

Ground familiarization session with a Stampe SV4C fitted with a Renault engine and pneumatic starter. Someone familiar with the aircraft explains to a pilot the pre-start procedure, the compressed-air system and the cockpit instruments.

The engine is primed by pumping fuel and letting the excess drain off until only a little remains at the bottom; the four-blade propeller is then turned by hand with the magnetos off, while the clicking of the impulse coupling can be heard. Starting uses an air tank that the engine recharges in flight. A master valve opens or closes the system and should be closed at night to avoid losing pressure; another valve allows it to be charged from an external source. A gauge with a black mark, somewhat above 20, shows the usual charge, and starting is simply a matter of operating a small lever, with choke if it's cold.

In the cockpit they go over the trim, the brakes and the harnesses, which are of a special type for aerobatics. The pilot asks whether, when turning the propeller by hand, the direction is opposite to that of a Gipsy, and is told it's the same.