Though I wasn't particularly looking forward to struggling with the pinion carrier, I suspected that as I'd been careful to assemble everything with new aircraft quality hardware and then covered the lot with lashings of 'bear grease', it would be a fairly straightforward task until I came to the adjustment. The Great Collector had the gen somewhere in his files so at least I'd be able to refresh my memory on the procedure.

We were in Rognan for only a few days and before we left, I wandered out to the harbour and took a few early morning pic's for the record.

Finding abandoned boats is becoming a bit of a mission...

.... and a last look at the fjord before the off - for me, not back home, but relocating to Pikkala in Finland.

I dropped off at Bodo airport my fellow Magneteer and, as I had a couple of hours to kill before my flight, a quick whizz around the Norsk Luftfartsmuseum which is only a couple of minutes away from the terminal, filled the time nicely. Leaving on a sunny afternoon afforded a view of the extraordinary landscape beneath us.

I'm obliged to the young lady occupying the window seat for this picture of our climb out. - soon this will be covered in snow and the lake iced over. I got to Helsinki quite late at night, hired a car and put up at the Clarion Hotel, a mile or two from the airport. As my new fellow Magneteer wasn't due in until late the following day, I was able to visit two museums which, in all my trips to Finland, had so far eluded me: the Finnish Aviation Museum in Helsinki and the Finnish National Gallery .

The aviation museum was a real treat with a selection of homebuilt, military and civil aircraft, many of which were new to me.

Gliders and motor gliders dangled from the ceiling;

... this two-seater Polikarpov was a rare one - I seem to remember seeing a single-seater displayed at La Ferté Alais years ago.

No collection is complete without an example of Mignet's Flying Flea.

The Eklund TE-1, an interesting little aircraft which started out as an amphibian with a 28hp motor. It could hardly stagger into the air so the undercarriage was removed and a 40hp engine installed, thus creating the world's smallest seaplane.

The highlight was this collection of early model aircraft radio control sets, all of which were completely familiar. The Graupner 'Bellaphon' set which operated 'Bellamatic' servos was, I think, our second radio set. The cream coloured push-button set to its left was our first and was installed in a Hegi 'Pascha' glider, complete with a detachable pylon for an ED 'Baby' diesel engine....

... not unlike the ED Hornet here. It was a real treat to see all this model aircraft paraphernalia gathered in one place and I congratulate the curators for including this often over-looked but important genre.

I'd read several on-line reviews for the National Gallery; they were mixed, though the majority complimentary. Some complained of the €15 entrance fee, others, the limited collection or the lack of big names. Still more took issue with the salon style of hanging and one very clever person, who confessed to not going in, was able to compare it unfavourably to the Hermitage in St Petersburg!

It sounded right up my street.