Niilo and Valto Karhumäki, also known as the Karhumäki brothers ( fi, Veljekset Karhumäki), were
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
aviation pioneers, aircraft manufacturers and airline founders.
Born in
Multia
Multia is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .
The ...
, Niilo and Valto Karhumäki moved to
Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä () is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capital of ...
, where they founded a company called ''Veljekset Karhumäki'' in late 1924, which dealt with pilot training, public displays, aircraft maintenance and aerial photography during the 1930s. In order to start a co-operation with the
Finnish Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries =
, equipment = 159
, equipment_label ...
, the headquarters of Veljekset Karhumäki was moved to
Kuorevesi
Kuorevesi is a former municipality in Finland. It was part of the Pirkanmaa region in western Finland. In the year 2001 it was consolidated into the town of Jämsä in the Central Finland region. The name of the municipality came from the Lake Ku ...
. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
the company was merged into the ''
Valtion lentokonetehdas
''Valtion lentokonetehdas'' (State aircraft factory) was a Finnish aircraft manufacturing company that was founded on 23 February 1928 from the IVL or I.V.L. factory (Ilmailuvoimien lentokonetehdas, Finnish Air Force Aircraft Factory), founded in ...
'' company, manufacturer of
a number of military aircraft. The Karhumäki brothers designed the
Karhumäki Karhu 48B light airplane, of which a small number was produced during the 1950s.
In 1950,
Karhumäki Airways was founded by Veljekset Karhumäki, an airline initially offering scheduled passenger flights on mostly domestic routes. In 1963,
Aero O/Y
Finnair ( fi, Finnair Oyj, sv, Finnair Abp) is the flag carrier and largest airline of Finland, with its headquarters in Vantaa on the grounds of Helsinki Airport, its hub. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both domestic and internationa ...
(today's Finnair) acquired the majority of its stake, and in 1996 Karair (as it was known by then) was fully absorbed into Finnair.
The brothers have been honoured with a monument called ''Lentäjäveljestenaukio'' (which translates as "Pilot Brothers Square") in .
References
* Ismo Tervonen: ''VELJEKSET KARHUMÄKI - Suomen ilmailun pioneereina 1924-1956'' (Apali 2002)
* Ismo Tervonen: ''KAR-AIR - tilauslentoliikenteen edelläkävijänä 1957-1980'' (Apali 2004)
* Ismo Tervonen: ''KARAIR - matkustajalentoliikenteen perinteiden vaalijana 1980-1996'' (Apali 2007)
External links
The Karhumäki brothers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karhumaki brothers
Aircraft manufacturers of Finland
Sibling duos