A special collector’s item went on a journey …

A Valmet Viima biplane from the 2nd World War (built in 1939) was transported by p.ressle/BTG from Landsberg (Bavaria) to Finland; there are only two airworthy examples of this extremely rare and valuable aircraft left in the world.

The aircraft found its way to Germany via Great Britain and Belgium about 7 years ago. After a major overhaul of the mechanical parts, the aircraft has now been sold back to its original home. The return of this cultural asset to Finland was also always a heartfelt wish of the German owner.

In preparation for transport, the double-decker had to be carefully disassembled and packed. It goes without saying that an extremely thorough and careful securing of the cargo was imperative.

A test drive on the company’s premises under the critical eyes of the seller revealed: everything was properly secured. Nothing stood in the way of the transport over thousands of kilometres by road and by ferry.

The biplane arrived in Helsinki without the slightest scratch, was unloaded and carefully reassembled and calibrated by the old owner and his staff. An engine test run was carried out in the presence of the new Finnish owner, as well as a technical briefing on the aircraft type.

At the time of going to press, the biplane had already been put into operation in Finland and had been flown for about 5 hours by a Finnish test pilot. The final authorization in Finland will take place in the next few days.

A happy ending for all involved.