Eklund TE-1

Eklund TE-1
	The Eklund TE-1 single-seat flying boat of 1949 at the Aviation Museum, Helsinki Vantaa airport, in September 1994
Role	single-seat flying boat
National origin	Finland
Manufacturer	Eklund
Designer	Torolf Eklund
First flight	24 February 1949
Retired	1969
Status	preserved in museum
Primary user	private owner
Number built	1

The Eklund TE-1 was a Finnish-built single-seat flying boat of the late 1940s.

Design and development

The TE-1 was designed in late 1948 by Torolf Eklund, who was a Finnish aircraft designer for Valtion Lentokonetehdas between 1935 and 1962. The TE-1 was financed and built by Eklund as a private venture.

Operational history

The TE-1 first flew in February 1949 powered by a 28 h.p. Poinsard engine. This powerplant suffered a crankcase failure, and as spare parts were no longer available, it was replaced by a Continental A40-5 engine.^[1] At the time of its first flight, the TE-1 was claimed to be the world's smallest flying boat. The aircraft last flew in 1969. It is now preserved in the Suomen Ilmailumuseo (Finnish Aviation Museum) at Helsinki Vantaa airport.^[2]

Variants

The following proposed derivatives were developed, but only the prototype TE-1 was completed and flown.^[1]

TE-1A with retractable four-wheel undercarriage
TE-1B flying boat configuration
TE-1B-S flying boat with skis
TE-1B-G flying boat with breaching gear^[3]

Specifications (TE-1)

Data from ^[1]

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 5.2 m (17 ft 1 in)
Wingspan: 7.5 m (24 ft 7 in)
Height: 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in)
Wing area: 5.57 m² (60.0 sq ft)
Airfoil: NACA 4415^[4]
Empty weight: 201 kg (443 lb)
Gross weight: 324 kg (714 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Continental A40-5 4-cylinder air-cooled horizontally-opposed piston engine, 30 kW (40 hp)
Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

Maximum speed: 150 km/h (93 mph, 81 kn)
Cruise speed: 132 km/h (82 mph, 71 kn)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Green, William (1965). The Aircraft of the World. Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd. p. 32.
^ Ogden, Bob (2006). Aviation Museums and Collections of Mainland Europe. Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p. 86. ISBN 0-85130-375-7.
^ "Eklund TE-1". Sport Aviation. May 1958.
^ Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.

[Green-1] Green, William (1965). The Aircraft of the World. Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd. p. 32.

[Ogden-2] Ogden, Bob (2006). Aviation Museums and Collections of Mainland Europe. Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p. 86. ISBN 0-85130-375-7.

[Sportav-3] "Eklund TE-1". Sport Aviation. May 1958.

[Selig-4] Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.

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