The Caravelle turbojet at Turku Airport used to be operated by SAS. It was in use from 1962 to 1974. Since 1974, the aircraft has been in storage at Arlanda Airport in Sweden. Last summer, however, it found an excellent home at Turku Airport.
“We are glad to have a piece of aviation history at Turku Airport that passengers and other aviation enthusiasts can come and explore. The plane has attracted a great deal of interest among passengers,” says Juha Aaltonen, Airport Manager at Turku Airport.
The SE-DAF, also known as Sven Viking, was brought to Finland in August of 2022. The Finnish Aviation Museum Society took ownership of it already in April of 2022.
The aircraft was transported to Finland piece by piece
In order to move the Caravelle from Sweden to Finland, it had to be dismantled into smaller parts. It was dismantled in Arlanda and transported to Finland by land and sea with four special transport lorries and two regular transport lorries. The wings were removed from the fuselage and the tail was taken apart. The fuselage was transported to Turku Airport on a special transport lorry.
In addition to the dismantling and transport, the project also included refurbishing and getting the aircraft ready for the exhibition. The aircraft is painted with Aero Oy’s 40th anniversary colours from 1963. The aircraft type corresponds to Aero’s, now known as Finnair, Caravelle aircraft from 1960–1964, which is why it has been painted to match Finnair’s aircraft.
The Caravelle project was carried out by the society’s volunteers. The restoration work has continued this year as well. For example, the tip of Caravelle’s wing was renovated by the Aviation Museum Society’s Tuesday club in Vantaa. The renovation of the cabin is planned to be completed by the summer of 2025.
The Aviation Museum Society’s renovated Caravelle is now known as OH-LEA, or BlueBird. The aircraft is located on the south-west side of Turku Airport next to the passenger terminal and can be visited during the opening hours indicated on the Caravelle project’s website.
Read more about the Caravelle and its restoration project on the Aviation Museum Society’s Caravelle project website.
Main photo: Finnish Aviation Museum Society / Jouko Tarponen
