Myrsky's demo wing was moved to mid hall of Finnish Aviation Museum

Suomeksi

When the underside of the demo-wing, built in the VL Myrsky II (MY-14) restoration project, had been painted with Futura 3 adhesive primer, it was ready to be moved from the restoration workshop of the Finnish Aviation Museum into the museum’s mid hall. An exhibition about the VL Myrsky II restoration project will be built in the mid hall.

The demo wing will be used in the exhibition to show the museum visitors what the wood-structured wing and the equipment were like in the Finnish WWII VL Myrsky fighter. All the equipment of the Myrsky’s wing have been assembled into the demo wing, including landing gear, operating mechanisms of the ailerons and the hanger for the auxiliary fuel tank / bomb. To allow a better view of the wing structure, the upper side of the wing has not been covered with plywood.

The demo wing includes a 2,5-metre section of the starboard wing and a one-metre root part of the port wing. The demo wing was used for testing how to build the Myrsky wing’s root part before starting to build the actual wings for the Myrsky MY-14. Now the demo wing will be used as a showpiece.

For moving the demo wing into the exhibition, pallets with wheels were fastened at both ends of the wing, which weighs nearly two hundred kilos. The demo wing was supported on racks made of steel and plywood, fastened on the pallets. The wing was locked into a vertical position with the leading edge downwards.

Having the wing in this position was the only way to manoeuvre the wing through the flight simulator room in the Aviation Museum’s mid hall and into the space reserved for the exhibition in the mid hall. Even this way the wing had to be wriggled through the hall inch by inch.

The wing was moved from the museum’s restoration workshop to the mid hall’s outer door on a lorry with a hoist. The transfer took place on a very rainy day, so the wing was protected from the rain by wrapping it in plastic.

The wing package was pushed out of the restoration workshop on the pallets with wheels, then the hoist straps were fastened. The wing was lifted, using the hoist, and moved onto the bed of the lorry. The lorry transported the demo wing to the mid hall’s outer door. There the wing was lowered in front of the door with the hoist, then it was pushed on the pallets through the door and into the simulator room in the mid hall. The one-metre section of the port wing was also brought to the mid hall on the same lorry.

In the simulator room the four-metre demo wing on its pallets was manoeuvred between the simulators until it was at a right angle facing the doorway to the mid hall exhibition area. The demo wing was gently pushed into the space which is reserved for the Myrsky exhibition. It was a close call, because there was only an inch between the pallets and the door frame. When the demo wing had reached its destination, the rain protecting plastic could be removed.

Now the demo wing will be prepared for exhibition. First the pallets will be removed, then the starboard and port side wing halves will be joined, and the landing gear will be assembled into the starboard wing. There will be also a Myrsky’s rear fuselage in the exhibition, with the wooden vertical and horizontal stabilizers, which were built in the Myrsky MY-14 restoration project, and the original metal elevators will be assembled, too. In the Myrsky restoration project the Aviation Museum Society’s Tuesday Club has concentrated, among other things, on the wings, tail, landing gear, oil cooler and engine cowlings. The Finnish Air Force Museum has been working on the fuselage restoration. Hopefully the MY-14 restoration will be completed next year. Then the genuine Finnish WWII Myrsky fighter would be on display for the public. 

The VL Myrsky II restoration project exhibition is open between 5.3. – 31.5.2022 at the Finnish Aviation Museum during its normal opening hours. The exhibition is in the mid hall, used for changing exhibitions, and a museum ticket is needed. The ticket prices are: adults 12 €, reduced groups 6 €, children below 7 years € eur and Museum Card 0 €.

I warmly recommend a visit at the Myrsky exhibition which will open in March. There you will learn about the restoration work of Myrsky MY-14 and about the history of the Myrsky fighter, which was the only WWII fighter of the State Aircraft Factory to reach series production phase.

Photos: Lassi Karivalo.

Translation: Erja Reinikainen