SZ-25 has got its engine installed

Members of Finnish Aviation Museum Wednesday Club installed Siemens-Halske SH 14A (No. 28223) engine onto Focke-Wulf Stieglitz, serialled SZ-25. However, the engine is still without a propeller.

Before we had reached this far, the engine was stripped down almost entirely off exterior equipment and then it was cleaned, renovated and equipped again. Equipping was done mainly by Wednesday Club.

The work was slowed down by searching missing parts. Sadly, some equipment is still missing. For example, there are no carburetors. However, this lack is hidden under the engine cowl and without looking under the covers, the engine seems to be intact.

Missing parts were found as well from museum stocks as from private collectors plus some had to be re-made. Our catch was two magnetos, intake manifold, head covers for valve push rods, exhaust manifold and exhaust pipe which runs from manifold to under the nose and fuselage.

At the last moment it was realized that our own museum had the cable conduit with cables for spark plugs. Also we got airscrew hub which was missing. As and when the parts were obtained, they were renovated and attached to the engine.

Some of these ”new” old parts were damaged and they were repaired, e.g. cable conduit for spark plug cables. Some of missing parts had to be made. The other magneto was missing a cap and it was prepared by casting. The cap of the other magneto was immersed in silicone to obtain a mold. Then we drained resin into mold and after hardening we had a genuine looking cap blank. The blank was machined, painted brown and installed onto magneto.

Exhaust pipe had no flange and it was made, too.

As we could not find an original exhaust manifold and as making such from scratch by our club was deemed to be too tedious for us, we outsourced it. New manifold was naturally too shiny and its surface was ”aged” with a blow torch. Still missing is propeller’s locking hex bolt with its cap which have to be turned. When everything is finally installed, the engine is perfectly good enough for this aircraft in its role as a gate guardian. It was not thought to be running again, anyway.

So, it will not take long before SZ-25’s fuselage is sent to Kauhava airport to wait for autumn when the whole plane is assembled inside a showcase as a memorial.