About metal parts of Myrsky wings

Suomeksi

There are many metal parts in the wooden wing structure of the VL Myrsky. The majority of these metal parts connect to the wing structure and the parts have to be installed at the same time when the ribs of the wing are attached between the wing spars.

Several of the metal parts are involved in the fastening of the landing gear at the root of the wing. These parts include e.g. the fastening of the diagonal rear strut of the landing gear which is attached to the rear spar, the fastenings of the landing gear strut which are attached to the seam of the fourth rib on the rear and front spars and the bearing and locking disc of the retracting actuator of the landing gear which is fastened on the front side of the front spar. The metal brackets, which fasten the wing to the fuselage, are fastened on the upper edge of the front and rear spars. In the mid-wing area there are also the fuel and compressed air tubes for the auxiliary fuel tank and the trimming mechanisms for the ailerons.

Some of the existing metal parts of the wing are original parts which have been installed in a Myrsky. They come from the wings of Myrsky which have been stored in the forest and decayed there for decades. The parts were salvaged from the forest, the moss was removed and the parts were cleaned, sand-blasted and painted grey. Also the original bolts and nuts belonging to these parts were salvaged and cleaned to be used again.

All of the metal parts needed for the wing were not found, so the missing parts have had to be made. The original parts and their drawings have been used when making the new parts. New parts have been needed to fasten the landing gear and also to fasten the wing to the fuselage.

There are four metal brackets on the upper edge of the front and rear spars which are needed to attach the wing to the fuselage. This means that when the Myrsky fuselage will eventually be placed on top of the wing, only four bolts will be needed to lock the wing and fuselage together.

Before the front and rear spars of the wing were fastened on the assembly jig, holes were drilled for the landing gear fasteners and for the bolts connecting the brackets of the wing and fuselage. When the wing spars had been fastened on the assembly jig, the installation of the ribs and the metal parts was started. It didn’t take long before all the metal parts had found their place and had been fastened on the wing spars.

The fuel and compressed air pipes of the auxiliary fuel tank were collected from the Finnish Air Force Museum. The original parts were rusty and had to be honed clean. The fuel tubes were painted yellow using a standard colour (Dicco 6 / RAL 1003 Signalgelb) typical for tubes on an aircraft and the compressed air tubes were painted blue. Then the tubes were pushed in place through the holes in the ribs.