Restoration of the aft stairway

Suomeksi

The Caravelle’s aft stairway was the last major untouched area in the aircraft’s restoration project. With the stairs completed, every part of the aircraft has now been addressed at least once. A few smaller tasks remain, and some details still need fine-tuning, but otherwise the aircraft’s restoration is complete.

After the restoration of the stairway, the focus will shift from restoring the aircraft to maintaining it. We can therefore consider the original restoration project completed.

Dismantling the aft stairway

Dismantling began by removing the two mounting bolts from each step. All but one came out easily. That one, however, required quite a bit of work. In the end, it had to be broken by twisting it, as shown in the photo below.

Restoring the aft stairway

The stairs were attached at the centre to a pivot bar, which had to be removed so that the stairs could be cleaned thoroughly.

After removal, each step was cleaned. We decided to leave the green anti-slip surface on the treads untouched. Despite the patina of age, the steps still function in this respect as originally intended.

The inside of the stairway frame and the sides were sanded before painting.

The stairs were painted using the same Teknos two-component paints that were used to paint the aircraft itself while it was in the old shipyard hall in Pansio. Even after three years in storage, the paint performed flawlessly.

First, the inside of the stair frame was painted with a grey primer that closely matched the original colour. A coat of clear topcoat lacquer was then applied. The outside of the frame was polished once a couple of years ago. It is due to be polished again next summer, when work on polishing the rear section will also continue.

Assembling the aft stairway

After painting and before assembly, all bolt and screw threads were cleaned and lubricated.

The steps were assembled in the reverse order of dismantling. The one mounting bolt that had put up such a fight went back into place easily and snapping it off had no effect on its function.

The Finnair logos and markings are still missing from the side of the stairway, but otherwise the stairs are finished and ready for use. Clear to raise the aft stairs!

Compared with earlier blog posts, this text about the final major restoration task turned into something of a photo gallery. But pictures say more than words, and these images provide a fitting way for us to bring the restoration project to a close. Maintenance work has already begun, and there will be more about that in the future blogs.

Photos: Ismo Matinlauri

Translation to English: Erja Reinikainen