Air-Britain Archive 1997-04 / Extracts

Регистрационный номерRegistry number: OH-TEA

The Eklund TE-1 amphibian OH-TEA in original format for testing in October 1948. The 28 hp Poinsard engine is fitted above and ahead of the single-seat cabin with a vertical support strut below it. It is currently exhibited as a flying boat with a longer more pointed nose and Continental engine.
Flying, October 1950: * p.37 - The Eklund TE-1 single-seat amphibian, a Finnish design, is shown. A 75 mph cruise is claimed on only a 28 hp motor.
Flying, October 1950: * p.37 - The Eklund TE-1 amphibian is the well-known OH-TEA c/n 1 which first flew on 24.2.49. Designed by Torolf Eklund, the tiny singleseater had a span of 7.5m /24 ft 7 in, length 5.2m /17ft 1 in and height on wheels of 1.9m /6 ft 3 in (making it smaller than the currently available SMAN Petrel amphibian). The wooden structure was plywood covered, as were the wings and tail surfaces, and the outer wing sections folded back for storage. The TE-1 was fitted with an obsolete 28 hp Poinsard flat twin with which the first land and water tests took place in October 1948. During these tests the propeller was broken by water splash so the actual first flights were made from ice by famous test pilot Capt Esko Halme. Three flights were made, totalling 50 minutes, on 24.2.49 before the Poinsard suffered crankcase failure.
The replacement engine was a four-cylinder horizontally-opposed air cooled 40 hp Continental A40-5 and the increased weight of this unit required it to be mounted above the cabin rather than ahead of it. The aircraft nose was also lengthened and fitted with a splash guard and the wheels were removed making it a pure flying boat. The TE-1 was flown again by Capt Halme on 3.11.54 for 55 minutes, making eight water landings. Although probably taxied by the owner the TE-1 did not fly again but was carefully stored and in 1981 put on display in the Finnish Aviation Museum at Helsinki-Vantaa.