VL Sääski

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VL Sääski
VL SääskiVL Sääski in the Finnish Aviation Museum
Type: Trainer aircraft
Design country:

FinlandFinland Finland

Manufacturer:

Valtion lentokonetehdas

First flight:

1928

Commissioning:

1928

Number of pieces:

38

The VL Sääski was a trainer aircraft produced by the Finnish manufacturer Valtion lentokonetehdas and the first aircraft designed in Finland to be mass-produced.

history

The aircraft was designed by Kurt Berger and Asser Järvinen in 1927. The prototype was financed with own funds and built by a ten-person design team. The prototype was called Sääski I , was ready in spring 1928 and was sold to the Finnish Air Force on June 25, 1928 . The design team founded a company called Sääski in 1928 and built four improved Sääski IIs for civil use. Since the company was threatened with bankruptcy due to a lack of orders, the Finnish Air Force ordered ten Sääski IIs . These were built and delivered in 1930. Two more orders came from the Air Force. In addition, five machines were produced for civil use.

construction

The Sääski was a single-engine training aircraft designed as a double-decker and equipped with seats arranged one behind the other. The aircraft had a non-retractable tail wheel landing gear. The second series (starting with SA-127) differed from the first by having a larger span. This version was called Sääski IIA . The aircraft was considered safe and reliable and was also fitted with floats.

variants

  • VL Sääski I: the prototype
  • VL Sääski II: improved version
  • VL Sääski IIA: with increased span and the option of being equipped with floats

Military use

Finnish Air Force
Finnish border guards

Civil use

Gidsken Jakobsen

Technical specifications

Parameter Data
crew 2
length 7.4 m
span 9.9 m
height 2.4 m
Wing area 24 m²
Empty mass 609 kg
Max. Takeoff mass 913 kg
Top speed 145 km / h
Service ceiling 4500 m
Range 3.5 hours
Engines 1 × 9-cylinder radial engine Siemens-Halske Sh 12 with 90 kW (122 PS)

See also

literature

  • Hallinportti-ilmailumuseon konetta koskeva esite, June 23, 2005.
  • Kalevi Keskinen, Kari Stenman, Klaus Niska: Suomen ilmavoimien lentokoneet 1918–1939. Tietoteos, 1976, ISBN 951-9035-20-6 .
  • Timo Heinonen: Thulinista Hornetiin - 75 vuotta Suomen ilmavoimien lentokoneita. Keski-Suomen ilmailumuseo. 1992, ISBN 951-95688-2-4 .

Web links

Commons : VL Sääski  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.aviastar.org/air/finland/vl_saaski.php data from aviastar.org