| Valmet Tuuli | |
|---|---|
 Tuuli III | |
| General information | |
| Type | Trainer |
| Manufacturer | Valmet |
| Primary user | Finnish Air Force |
| Number built | one each Tuuli II, III |
| History | |
| First flight | 26 September 1951 |
TheValmet Tuuli was a trainer aircraft, developed for theFinnish Air Force by theState Aircraft Factory (Valtion lentokonetehdas, VL). The aircraft was to be produced in 3 different versions. The last version, Tuuli III was redesigned from scratch, and is basically an entirely different aircraft.
The design work on the aircraft was initiated in February 1941 under the leadership of the chief engineer Martti Vainio. The aircraft was a low-winged, tandem-seated trainer aircraft. The Finnish Air Force ordered a prototype,Tuuli I, in August 1942. The design work and its construction was ended in the spring of 1944, when the aircraft manufacturer was forced to put all its efforts in repairing the front-line aircraft. The Aircraft Factory built only stress testing models of the Tuuli I's wings and fuselage.
VL became part of the companyValtion metallitehtaat (Valmet) in 1945 and therefore, the Tuuli II's prototype became Valmet's first aircraft. Valmet wanted to transform weapons factories, which were currently focused onwar-reparations to the Soviet Union, into a productive and profitable industry. Artillery factories were transformed into paper machine factories, etc. The leaders of the aircraft factory became professors of the Helsinki Technical University and directors ofVTT. At this stage, the design of aircraft in Finland was cooled down and the quality suffered.
In September 1945 the design of theTuuli II prototype began and was led byTorolf Eklund. The prototype was ready in the autumn of 1948. After this, the development stopped for a couple of years. The Finnish Air Force funded the prototype, and promised an order if it filled their requirements. The requirements had changed, and now the aircraft had to have side-by-side seating. The maiden flight with the Tuuli II was on 26 September 1951. Due to its low wing loading, its turning maneuvers was bad – this was from the military's view a serious deficiency. The aircraft was destroyed on 26 October 1951. The accident happened after thecontrol stick had broken off, due to a forgotten stage of rivetting.
In 1957–1959, a third prototype, theTuuli III was designed, after the FAF had announced the requirement of a new trainer aircraft. However, the Tuuli III lost the competition to the SwedishSaab 91 Safir, which was much cheaper and was already in production. The Tuuli III was to be the last military aircraft designed in Finland until theValmet L-70 Vinka in the 1970s.
Data fromJane's.[1]
General characteristics
Performance
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