Hi all,
Here is a list of reference books about aircraft produced in Belgium. Most are in French language unless mentioned. The main publisher of books on Belgian aircraft is FNAR, and there are gems in the Brussels Air Museum Magazine (BAMM, formerly Bulletin de l'AELR). Additions and comments are welcome.
List of similar threads for other countries:
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,22054.0.html
General books on Belgian aircraft production
There is no general reference on Belgian aircraft production, which is a pity.
Here are some recommended websites on Belgian aircraft:
http://www.fnar.be/?Avions_construits_en_Belgique
http://belgian-wings.be/
Books on Belgian aircraft manufacturers or aircraft families
As in the list on French aircraft, I included magazine articles when no book is available.
http://www.bamfbamrs.be/Dillien/index.htm
Book on the Belgian space industry
Here is a list of reference books about aircraft produced in Belgium. Most are in French language unless mentioned. The main publisher of books on Belgian aircraft is FNAR, and there are gems in the Brussels Air Museum Magazine (BAMM, formerly Bulletin de l'AELR). Additions and comments are welcome.
List of similar threads for other countries:
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,22054.0.html
General books on Belgian aircraft production
There is no general reference on Belgian aircraft production, which is a pity.
Here are some recommended websites on Belgian aircraft:
http://www.fnar.be/?Avions_construits_en_Belgique
http://belgian-wings.be/
Books on Belgian aircraft manufacturers or aircraft families
As in the list on French aircraft, I included magazine articles when no book is available.
- ACAZ "La construction d'avions à Zeebrugge – ACAZ / Vliegtuigbouw in Zeebrugge – ACAZ" (bilingual French/Dutch), by Jacques Willems, two-part article in Brussels Air Museum Magazine no.134 and 135
Good first approach, no drawings. There is also an article on the ACAZ C.2 in BAMM no.60, and the ACAZ T.2 is covered in the book on Renard by Hauet & Roberty. - Avions Fairey (Tipsy) Les avions Tipsy / Tipsy airplanes (bilingual French/English), by Vincent Jacobs, FNAR, 2011, legal deposit D/2011/8582/1
Seems great, not seen in detail. - Avions Fairey/Sonaca Sonaca – 80 ans de passion aéronautique 1931-2011, by Pierre Sonveaux & Pierre Taquet, Sonaca, 2011, ISBN unknown
Not seen, review at Hangar Flying. Internal company history, not widely distributed, not sure if interesting. - Avions Fairey/Sonaca La société aéronautique Fairey/Sonaca des origines à nos jours, by M. Boesmans, publisher and date unknown
Not seen, no information, very hard to find. Perhaps not very interesting. - Bulté "Les avions Bulté / De vliegtuigen Bulté" (bilingual French/Dutch), by Dedale (pseudonym for Michel Terlinden), article in Brussels Air Museum Magazine no.47, 1985
Good first approach. Parts of the article are textual reproductions of period documents. Contains drawings of some built aircraft. It seems that a second part was intended but never published. Another article on Bulté aircraft tentatively sold in the United Kingdom was published in BAMM no.119, 2003. - Dassy "Les avions Dassy 1930-1940 / De vliegtuigen Dassy 1930-1940" (bilingual French/Dutch), by Guy Roberty, article in Brussels Air Museum Magazine no.102, 1999
Excellent, only missing drawings of the aircraft, which are perhaps impossible to draw accurately from the scarce remaining documents. - Fairey See Avions Fairey.
- Florine Les hélicoptères Florine 1920-1950, by Alphonse Dumoulin, FNAR, 1999, legal deposit D/1999/8582/1
Not seen, read excellent reviews. There was also a two-part article on Florine in BAMM no.112 and 113, not seen. - Guldentops "La construction aéronautique belge – Les Établissements J. Guldentops / De Belgische luchtvaart-constructie – De firma J. Guldentops" (bilingual French/Dutch), author not mentioned, article in Brussels Air Museum Magazine no.57, 1988
Good first approach, with pictures of the Saint-Hubert G.I and a drawing of the Saint-Michel S.G.II. - LACAB See the book about SABCA by Charles Mali. There was also an article by Guy Roberty comparing the LACAB T.7 and French SEMA aircraft in BAMM no.42.
- Mulot "André Mulot ou les aventures d'un Français en Belgique", by Jacques Chillon & Guy Roberty, in Trait d'Union no.235
Not seen. - Oplinter "Un génie belge méconnu – Jean de Wouters d'Oplinter / Een miskend Belgisch genie – Jean de Wouters d'Oplinter" (bilingual French/Dutch), by Guy Roberty, Brussels Air Museum Magazine no.75, 1999
Great. The issue is fully devoted to Wouters d'Oplinter, with many projects and drawings. Only regret is the lack of drawings of the built W.4. There was an earlier article on a two-engined Oplinter project in issue no.62, not seen. - Orta See Guldentops.
- Renard Les avions Renard 1922-1970, by André Hauet & Guy Roberty, AELR/FNAR, 1996, legal deposit D/1996/4153/1
Great, contains projects and drawings, from the RSV.32 to the SR.12. There was an earlier edition by Hauet alone in 1984, a special issue on Renard in BAMM no.59, and a series of articles by Hauet in early issues of the AELR periodical. All those are probably superseded by the 1996 book. - Renard R.31 Renard R.31 – Souvenirs des pilotes et conception de l'avion, by André Henry de la Lindi & Alain Delannai, FNAR, 2006, legal deposit D/2006/8582/1
Read excellent review, not seen. - Renard R.36 to R.40 fighters Renard R-36/37/38 & 40 (bilingual French/English), by Nicolas Godfurnon, FNAR, 2010, legal deposit D/2010/8582/1
Great, contains almost everything you want to know on these aircraft. Many pictures and construction details, and large scale drawings of the built aircraft. Mentions unbuilt variants of the R.36 and R.37 with some drawings, I wonder if other drawings were found but not published (surprising given the wealth of other documents) or if they simply did not survive.
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=13154.0 - Renard multi-engined aircraft Avions multi-moteurs Renard (bilingual French/English), by Nicolas Godfurnon, FNAR, 2013, legal deposit D/2012/8582/1
Great, similar to the above book. It covers the R.30, R.35 and R.45, and it contains unbuilt projects and many drawings. Review with sample pages at Flying Zone. - SABCA Les avions S.A.B.C.A. et associés – Prototypes et projets, by Charles Mali, FNAR, 2003, legal deposit D/2003/8582/2
Great, contains many projects and drawings. Covers SABCA's own designs as well as other aircraft that were related to SABCA, like the LACAB and several ultralight aircraft. - SABCA Rêves et obstination de l'industrie aéronautique belge – SABCA 1920-1990, collective work directed by Michel Destexhe, SABCA, 1992, legal deposit D/1992/0801/01
This is a company history published by SABCA for its 70th anniversary. It is not uninteresting but most aircraft enthusiasts will find it superseded by the above book. SABCA prewar aircraft are briefly described, together with some projects. A scale model of the S.60 jet trainer is also shown with no detail. The book contains information about some activities that are not treated in the other book: aircraft production under license from the very beginnings to the F-16, and rocket and space activities from the Vogelpik missile project to Ariane. Other SABCA activities are described too, like aircraft maintenance, hydraulics, electronics, etc. - SEA (Peetermans) "Maurice Peetermans et la Société d'Études Aéronautiques (S.E.A.) / Maurice Peetermans en de « Société d'Études Aéronautiques - S.E.A. » (Maatschappij vor Luchtvaartstudies)" (bilingual French/Dutch), by Guy Roberty, Brussels Air Museum Magazine no.95, 1997
Excellent, the only printed source on these little known aircraft. - Stampe Les avions Stampe, by Réginald Jouhaud, Wimpel, first edition in 1993, ISBN unknown, second edition in 1999, ISBN 9072003071
Overall excellent, covers all models from the RSV.32 to the SR.11, contains projects and drawings. Every chapter has a short summary in English. The book is extremely comprehensive on the SV.4 ; my main regret is that it doesn't show enough pictures of other models. There is some overlap with the book on Renard by Hauet and Roberty, which is slightly better on RSV and SR families. The second edition differs by the addition of a few pages on surviving SV.4 and a couple drawings of the SV.4. - Stampe SV.4 SV-4 Stampe – Légende volante, by Réginald Jouhaud, Bleu Ciel, 2010, ISBN 2918015091
Not seen. Same author as above, published ten years later, only on the SV.4. - Tipsy See Avions Fairey (Tipsy was a range of aircraft produced by that company).
- Wouters See Oplinter.
- Zacco See ACAZ.
- Ultra-light and amateur There were various articles on older amateur aircraft in the Brussels Air Museum Magazine: Bauthier (no.85), EMA/Fabry/SHPP (no.81), Pissoort (no.122), Poncelet (no.98), SABS (no.79 and 81), Simonet (no.85)
- Belgian Civil Aircraft Since 1920 – An Illustrated Register Survey, by John Appleton & Armand Thys, Midland, 1980, ISBN 0904597261
Not seen, probably contains the official Belgian register. It may contain details of Belgian produced aircraft not covered elsewhere.
http://www.bamfbamrs.be/Dillien/index.htm
Book on the Belgian space industry
- La contribution de la Belgique à l'aventure spatiale européenne – Des origines à 1973, by Dawinka Laureys, Beauchesne, 2008, ISBN 2701015170
Not seen in detail, does not seem to contain pictures, but a unique book on this potentially interesting subject.
