Myrsky wing begins to take shape

Suomeksi

The Tuesday Club of the Finnish Aviation Museum Society has finally reached the phase when the renovated Myrsky MY-14 wing is assembled. To reach that point a lot of work has been necessary - to build the wing spars and ribs. The building of the wing spars has taken 2,5 years and they were finished in late spring 2017. Building the ribs took 650 hours of work.

Before the wing spars could be attached to the wing assembly frame (the jig), some holes had to be made for the feed-through and fitting of equipment which will be later installed into the wing. Holes are needed for machinery and equipment which operate e.g. landing gear, guns, bombs and auxiliary fuel tank, ailerons, etc. The frame of the wing will first be built between the wing spars, including the equipment inside the wing, before the leading and trailing edges are assembled.

During the autumn the main work item has been to make the holes into the wing spars. At the same time supporting braces for the ribs have been installed between the front and rear spars. The connecting steel plate joint of the wing halves has been under construction as well. The original Myrsky wing was 11 meters long and weighed 440 kilos whereas the renovated Myrsky wing will consist of two parts, this solution was chosen mainly for practical reasons.

The matching imbedding and holes for the bolts attaching the connecting steel plates were made to the attachment point of the wing halves, i.e. the root of the wing spars. It is important to attach the steel plates to the spars at the correct angle so that the two wing halves will form a uniform wing which corresponds to the original Myrsky drawings.

On Tuesday October 17th 2017 all preparations had been made to attach the Myrsky right wing spars to the assembly jig. The assembly jig made of steel beams and pipes cut to measure had been prepared well in advance. First the rear spar was attached to the jig and then the front spar. The spars were locked in place using steel rods installed across the jig frame.

When the wing spars were firmly attached to the jig, the preliminary installation of the wing ribs between the spars took place. The ribs had been made last spring. They were not yet glued in their places at this phase.

As a proof of Tuesday Club work quality, the ribs settled firmly and tightly in their places between the spars. The upper edges of the ribs were also in line – this was noted by placing a steel ruler on top of the ribs.

The wing spars attached to the assembly jig and the ribs between them are an amazing sight. This is an important milestone for all the Tuesday Club members who have been involved in the building of the Myrsky wing. This moment almost corresponds a “topping out” in a house construction.