Eklund TE-1

06/30/2011. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "Torlf Eklund, a Finnish aeronautical engineer, designed in his spare time a small single-seat amphibian flying boat of all wood construction, the designer's main aim was simplicity and cheapness.

It was built in the Valtion Metallitehtaat Lentokonetehdas (State Metal Factories, often abbreviated to V.M.T. or VMT) at Karhumäki, and registered OH-TEA, it was first flown on February 24, 1949. The simple fixed tricycle landing gear was fitted with 5.5 x 4 low-pressure tires to absorb all shocks. The wings were arranged to fold to permit easy transport and stowage in an ordinary garage..

The initial power plant was a small secondhand Poinsard engine. Designed by René Poinsard in the early 1930s, it was a two-cylinder four-stroke air-cooled horizontally-opposed engine that produced a take off power of 28 hp at 2,500 rpm. The engine was manufactured by Établissements Pierre Mengin at Montargis, Loiret, France from 1933 to 1940, and hence is also known as the Mengin Type B (O-76)..

Underpowered it was subsequently fitted with a 40 hp Continental A40 four-cylinder air-cooled horizontally-opposed engine, and the landing gear was removed, resulting in the world's smallest flying boat. In 1969 it was withdrawn from use and is presently displayed at the Suomen Ilmailumuseo (Finnish Aviation Museum)."