Lehtovaara PIK-16 Vasama explained

The Lehtovaara PIK-16 Vasama (English: Arrow) is a Finnish mid-wing, single-seat, FAI Standard Class glider that was designed by Tuomo Tervo, Jorma Jalkanen and Kurt Hedstrom, who were students at the Polyteknikkojen Ilmailukerho (PIK) and produced by Lehtovaara.^[1] ^[2]

Design and development

The PIK-16 is constructed from wood, with a fibreglass nose. The 151NaN1 span wing employs a Wortmann FX-05-168 (14% modification) airfoil at the wing root, transitioning to a NACA 63 (2)-165 at the wing tip. The wing features dive brakes.^[3] The prototype Vasama had V tail, but it was changed to cruciform tail on production aircraft.

A total of 56 PIK-16s were built. The aircraft was not type certified but it did become the second most exported Finnish glider, surpassed only by the later PIK-20 series.^[4]

Operational history

The prototype PIK-16 set a Finnish national record for a 3000NaN0 triangle course of 86.60NaN0 before it had even finished flight testing.^[5]

The design won the OSTIV prize at the World Gliding Championships held at Junín, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina in 1963, finishing third in the standard class.

Variants

PIK-16a

Prototype with a V-tail.

PIK-16b

Revised design with a cruciform tail, four built by the Finnish Aeronautical Association at the Jämi Flying School.^[6]

PIK-16c

Third version

Aircraft on display

Finnish Aviation Museum

References

Bibliography

Sport and Business. Flight International. 23 August 1962. 280. 12 April 2013.
Book: Shenstone, B.S.. The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs du Monde Volume II. 1963. Organisation Scientifique et Technique Internationale du Vol a Voile (OSTIV) and Schweizer Aero-Revue. Zurich. 74–75. 1st. K.G. Wilkinson . English, French, German.
Web site: PIK-16 Vasama Lehtovaara . 10 July 2011. Activate Media. 2006.
Web site: The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage. 1 July 2011. Lednicer. David. 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100420012244/http://www.ae.illinois.edu/m-selig/ads/aircraft.html. 20 April 2010. dead.
Web site: PIK 16c Vasama. 17 July 2011. Finnish Aviation Museum. 2009.
Sport and Business. Flight International. 17 August 1961. 212. 12 April 2013.

Notes and References

Web site: PIK-16 Vasama Lehtovaara . 10 July 2011. Activate Media. 2006.
Said. Bob. 1983 Sailplane Directory. Soaring Magazine. November 1983. 94. Soaring Society of America.
Web site: The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage. 1 July 2011. Lednicer. David. 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100420012244/http://www.ae.illinois.edu/m-selig/ads/aircraft.html. 20 April 2010. dead.
Web site: PIK 16c Vasama. 17 July 2011. Finnish Aviation Museum. 2009.
Sport and Business. Flight International. 17 August 1961. 212. 12 April 2013.
Sport and Business. Flight International. 23 August 1962. 280. 12 April 2013.