Fly Past

80 FLYPAST November 2018

SPOT FACT The Fi 156P was a special police version used for

anti-partisan operations

One of the aircraft crashed during

take-off, and a group of local boys

stripped it for souvenirs. Now, 70

years later, one of them was offering

his share of the ‘loot’ to the project

at Kjeller. Tor took him up on his

offer and several of these parts were

used in H3+BF.

Those seemingly endless 9,250

working hours were crowned with

success when the newly restored

Fieseler took to the skies on October

7 last year, after 28 years on the

ground. As is normal with such

aircraft, some minor adjustments

had to be made, but there was

nothing that couldn’t be fixed.

Tor’s Fieseler is now certified

to fly by the Norwegian Civil

Aviation Authority and is registered

LN-WNS. Those building aircraft

from scratch, buying kits or

restoring wrecks are generally

members of the Experimental

Aircraft Association Norway, which

assists with the legal certification

process. The restoration of the

Storch is documented in an

extensive log detailing every task

carried out.

“I got in contact with a guy

in England who sent me 3,000

original blueprints,” says Tor. “The

download weighed in at about 65

GB. The blueprints even include the

names of the engineers who made

the first draft, and adjusted and

approved each part, including dates

and signatures. Even the smallest

washer has its own drawing.”

Attention to detail

Nørstegård suspects he may have

the world’s most authentic Fieseler

sensitivities involved and admits this

may pose a problem if the aircraft

were to appear at an event in its

country of origin.

“There is a law against displaying

the swastika in Germany,” he

explains. “You won’t even see them

on Airfix plastic kit boxes. But I still

believe that a swastika on an historic

artefact must be allowed. I regard it

as adult education. I mean, this was

how this aircraft looked at the time.

If this should become a problem

anywhere, I’ll just have to tape

over it.”

After the photo shoot for

this article was completed, the

controversial symbol was discreetly

covered by a tarpaulin.

Restoring German warbirds

is certainly not an inexpensive

hobby. When asked about the cost

Nørstegård jokingly likens himself

to a passionate fly fisherman: “What

I fear most about dying is that my

wife will sell my fishing gear for

what I said I paid for it,” he laughs.

The Argus engine requires a major

overhaul after every 500 hours of

use, and this includes replacing most

bearings. There are also many other

expenses to consider, such as hangar

rental, insurance, taxes and fuel.

The Fieseler’s owner hopes to

offset some of these costs by

displaying his pride and joy at air

shows. Hopefully he will find his

charge to be in great demand, as

there are just ten aircraft of this type

with an original engine in the world,

and H3+BF is in mint condition.

Finally, I ask Tor to describe his

emotions when he took off for

the first time in his immaculate

Storch, returning it to its natural

environment after so many years

of work?

“I was more elated when the

engine started and was running

without problems – without ‘making

metal’, losing oil pressure or seizing

up – but I have to admit that when I

actually flew the Storch for the first

time, there was a smile on my face so

big, the corners of my mouth were

parallel to the tip of my nose!”

Fi 156 Storch. The aircraft is nearly

75 years old, but many original parts

are still fully functional. Even the

tyre on the tailwheel and some of

the cockpit windows remain from its

earlier incarnation.

Showing his passion for

authenticity, Tor has even equipped

the Fieseler with a flare gun and

cartridges in different colours, a

cleaning kit for the hand-operated

MG 15 machine gun, a folding map

table, and an extremely rare spent

casings catcher. This last item, which

is made of rubber, was retrieved

from a submerged wreck. The list

of original equipment, dismissed by

many as ‘impossible to obtain’, is

very long indeed.

The Storch currently flies with a

swastika on the tail fin, just as the

original did. Tor is aware of the

Clockwise

from above

The Storch fl ying

in Luftwaffe livery

over Norway in 2018.

DANIEL KARLSSON

Flare cartridges are

stored in a special

housing on the inner

starboard door.

The eagle emblem

was used on

aircraft from Stab

Jagdfl iegerführer

Norwegen.

One of the few parts

missing is a hand

crank axle used for

starting the engine.

It’s supposed to be

inserted here.