Valmet L-70 Vinka

Valmet L-70 Vinka
The first production Vinka, VN-1, at Turku Airshow in 2015.
Role	Primary trainer
National origin	Finland
Manufacturer	Valmet
Designer	Elias Järvineva
First flight	1 July 1975
Introduction	1980
Status	Retired
Primary users	Finnish Air Force
Produced	1979-1982
Number built	30
Developed into	Valmet L-80 Turbo-Vinha Valmet L-90 TP Redigo

The Valmet L-70 Vinka (Clamp or Cold Wind) is a Finnish three-seat military basic trainer designed in the 1970s. It was used by the Finnish Air Force from 1980 to 2022.

Development

Replacing the FAF's Saab 91 Safir trainers became topical in the late 1960s. An indigenous replacement was desired, and on 15 September 1970 the Ilmailuteollisuuden Kehitysohjelma (IKO, Development program of the aircraft industry), led by Elias Järvineva, was formed to create it. The goal was to revive the Finnish aircraft industry, which had not built military aircraft since the unsuccessful Valmet Tuuli III in 1957.

The aircraft was named the LEKO-70 (Lentokone-70, Airplane-70), and first flew on 1 July 1975. The FAF ordered 30 in January 1977, and the type was given the name Vinka. The first series-produced Vinka made its maiden flight on 29 December 1979, and the type entered service the next year.

An export version called the L-70 Miltrainer was also created in 1980, but not a single one was sold, and thus only one prototype was built. In the 1980s a more advanced version of the Vinka, the L-80 Turbo-Vinha (Turbo Quick) with a turboprop engine and retractable landing gear was created. The L-80 eventually evolved into the L-90 TP Redigo (later known as Aermacchi M-290 RediGo).

Service

The sole L-70 Miltrainer prototype, OH-VAA, in an airshow at Oripää Airfield in 2013.

Vinkas were the backbone of the Finnish Air Force pilot training from 1980, but they were replaced with second-hand Grob G 115Es in 2020–2022. The Vinka was the last indigenous aircraft type in FAF service.

Specifications

• Crew: 2
• Capacity: 1 passenger
• Length: 7.5 m (24 ft 7 in)
• Wingspan: 9.85 m (32 ft 4 in)
• Height: 3.31 m (10 ft 10 in)
• Wing area: 14 m² (150 sq ft)
• Airfoil: NACA 63₂A615 mod
• Empty weight: 792 kg (1,746 lb)
• Gross weight: 1,050 kg (2,315 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 1,250 kg (2,756 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming AEIO-360-A1B6 4-cylinder air-cooled horizontally-opposed piston engine, 149 kW (200 hp)
• Propeller: 2-bladed variable-pitch propeller
• Maximum speed: 240 km/h (150 mph, 130 kn)
• Cruise speed: 222 km/h (138 mph, 120 kn) 75% power at 1,525 m (5,003 ft)
• Stall speed: 85 km/h (53 mph, 46 kn) (flaps down, power off)
• Never exceed speed: 360 km/h (220 mph, 190 kn)
• Range: 860 km (530 mi, 460 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 5,000 m (16,000 ft)
• Rate of climb: 5.7 m/s (1,120 ft/min)