Valmet Vihuri

Valmet Vihuri (Finnish for Gale) was a Finnish advanced two-seat fighter trainer aircraft, serving in the Finnish Air Force between 1953 and 1959. A few airframes have survived, as in the Central Finland Aviation Museum in Finland.

History
In spite of their economic problems, the aircraft manufacturer Valmet began designing a new aircraft in the beginning of the 1950s, to replace the aging FAF VL Pyrys. Martti Vainio was the chief designer of the project. Most of the planning was made by the aeronautic engineers L. Hämäläinen and T. Mäntysalo in 1948–49. The Bristol Mercury was chosen as the engine, since there were no other alternatives. The Mercury was license made in Finland for the Bristol Blenheim bomber. The prototype (VH-1) made its first flight on February 6, 1951, in Tampere, piloted by captain Esko Halme. After the successful test flights, the FAF ordered 30 aircraft of the production series, called Valmet Vihuri II on February 27, 1951. In the autumn of 1954, the air force ordered a further 20 aircraft of the developed version Valmet Vihuri III. All the aircraft of the third version were handed over to the air force on January 15, 1957.

Valmet built 51 Vihuri's in three different series (I-III) in Kuorevesi and Tampere. The aircraft had the registration codes VH-1 through VH-51.

Operational use
The Vihuri aircraft became the most-used aircraft in FAF service by the mid-1950s. The aircraft was subject to many accidents, and the press raised a lot of concerns about these. The safety of the Vihuri even became a matter for the government. In May 1959, the aircraft was permanently grounded after the death of the Finnish prime minister's son in the aircraft type. Attempts were made to sell the aircraft to Tunisia, without success.

After the inspection, it became apparent that the type and its design was sound; most of the accidents were due to pilots' often grave flight-regulations violations, and the fact all airframes were well worn by the end of the 1950s. The other problem were the engines. The engines used, Tampella Mercury, were recycled engines of wartime Bristol Blenheim bombers, which were already thoroughly worn out. The planes were sold for scrap to Moser OY. One airframe, VH-18, survives in the Central Finland Aviation Museum, and the fore fuselage of another, VH-25, is being restored. The canopies of the scrapped aircraft remain today as the roof windows of the Kuusakoski metal-recycling plant in Espoo.

Operators

 * Finnish Air Force
 * Finnish Air Force

Preserved aircraft
The Central Finland Aviation museum is displaying the VH-18, which is the only preserved Vihuri. It gathered 802 flying hours, after which the aircraft served as an educational machine at the Air Force Academy in Kauhava.