Russian air carriers are planning to “import substitute” the repair of Boeings and Airbuses with the help of their own spare parts, and the parts necessary for this will be developed and produced in Russia. At least one of the largest airlines in the country – S7 – has already told Izvestia in detail about how and what S7 Technics – the engineering subsidiary of Russia's largest private airline S7 Airlines – and Rosatom Corporation are working on for the replacement of imported parts of foreign-made aircraft.
According to experts, so far S7 itself can repair only 17% of imported engine parts and 67% of the systems of the entire aircraft – and at the same time, the company has advanced the farthest in this direction in Russia. “We started joint development and production of water and air filters with Rosatom. We are also working on brake discs,” Vitaly Susanin, Deputy General Director for Engineering Support, Chief Engineer of S7 Technics, explained to the publication. The samples have already been made, they just need to be tested, tested on an airplane and certified. S7 Technics also involved the All-Russian Research Institute of Aviation Materials (VIAM) and the Russian Paints company, Vitaly Susanin noted. With them, the carrier will try to find a replacement for imported paintwork materials.
At the same time, the current S7 Technics certificate allows only minor modifications to 67% of aircraft systems. In addition, this certificate covers only 56% of all types of foreign aircraft operated in Russia, representatives of S7 specified at the conference.
In addition, in September 2022, S7 Technics also opened a workshop in Sheremetyevo for the overhaul of US-French CFM56 engines, which are installed on about 400 of the company's aircraft, both Airbuses and Boeings. These are the first facilities in the country for the overhaul of these units – stressed in the publication. True, at the moment S7 has mastered the repairs of only 17% of CFM engine parts and has not yet completed a single overhaul, but six copies are currently in operation.
At the same time, we recall that some sources assure that technical problems are already showing themselves know from Russian carriers and, in particular, from “tour operator” companies. At least, the media of some countries “submitted” as evidence of the effectiveness of air sanctions against the air fleet of Russian airlines, mainly consisting of Western equipment, the situation with the Azur Air airliner in Phuket – according to some reports, the cause of the accident was just an engine fire. Read more at this link.
For those who care about a healthy lifestyle, we recommend reading: “Vitamin D has been found to reduce the risk of developing diabetes.”