Viktor Chuyko, Association of Aero Engines Manufacturers - Международная ассоциация "Союз авиационного двигателестроения"
Release Date: 2010-04-09
Viktor Chuyko, President and General Director of the Association of Aero Engine Manufacturers, has been interviewed by Russianavia.net to talk about the history of the Association, the current trends in Russian aviation and the partnerships that the industry is developing to further ensure iinternational cooperation.The Soviet aero engine manufacturers were a popular trademark on a global level. Today the main weakness of the Russian aviation industry, according to a popular opinion, is the quality and aftersales servicing. Is this a fair estimation and what are the main issues of the industry, in your view?
There are two fantastic versions. The first is that the engines produced in the USSR and in Russia are less functional than their Western analogues. According to the second version, the quality of servicing in Russia leaves much to be desired. First of all, such estimation might favor somebody. So, this question does not surprise me.
Let’s look at the military engines first. Russia has always been equal with other countries or even ahead of them in terms of the quality of military engines such as the engines for Su-27 and MiG-29 equipped with AL-31 and RD-33 engines. One of the unique technical advantages of these engines is that they allow doing the hardest aerial stunts (like the “bell” and “cobra”) when the incoming air flow is polluted but it does not stall the engines. Not a single Western aircraft can repeat this. As for the life cycle of the engine, the military sector has never asked us to construct long-lasting engines. The military aircraft do not need a lot of resource as only half of them is back after each flight. If the enemy uses real anti-air defense, normally only 2 out of 4 aircraft come back.
The question concerning after-sale servicing is related to two factors. Firstly, the West switched to modular engine design in late 70ies – early 80ies, which made it possible to replace any detail quickly. Secondly, the Western companies have a long track record on the world market and, consequently, a very developed network of the regional technical centres. Any detail can be replaced in 24-48 hours This is a sphere where Russia has actually been lagging behind. Today all the engines created in the 1980ies and later have modular design, and technical centres have already been created in a few countries. I believe that the aviation has done a lot so far in developing the service.
A good example is a service centre of Motor Sich (Ukraine) with customer attention system built according to the best Western service centres. Every year they increase their sales 10-fold which is yet another proof why the Western companies have started to work in this sector so long ago.
As for the civil engines, Russia has always been lagging 3-5 years behind in this sphere. It might be due to the fact that particular attention was given to the construction of military engines and aircraft. Some of the successful examples of aircraft built in Russia in the 1980ies are Il-96, Tu-204, Yak-42, An-140. After А-380 and Dreamliner entered the market, Russia realized that it was time to catch up with the West. It’s not yet time to talk about economic efficiency.
It might sound as a polemic question but if we take Sukhoi Superjet, the latest Russian development in civil aviation, has not yet lived up to all the expectations of its creators. What is the necessity for Russia to continue developing civil engines?
As you could notice, I did not mention Sukhoi Superjet when I was talking about the Russian aircraft. I would not like to go into too many details. Perhaps, there was a bad mistake from the viewpoint of the market niche.
As for the development of civil aviation in Russia, I would like to point out three aspects: economy, politics and science. As for the economic aspect, Russia and Ukraine have retained their potential for creation and production of engines, namely the human resources, equipment and know-how. A good example is An-148, a brilliant regional aircraft designed jointly by Russia and Ukraine according to the highest world standards. It has been certified two years ago and is just as good as any other of its foreign competitors.
As for the politics, it is closely related to the security of the state and the people. When I met with the representatives of Turbomecca and Snecma in Moscow, it was very clear for us that if we cooperate in the sphere of industry and defense, our countries would never be at war. For example, the visit of Sarkozy to Moscow during the military conflict in South Ossetia in 2008 helped to solve it quicker.
There’s also the sci-tech issue. As the history of engine construction has proven, the first to be created are engines for military aircraft with the best parameters and a certain risk involved. All the new engine technologies are first implemented in the military sector, 3-4 years after that – in civil aviation, and in 3-4 more years the engines are applied in the industry (in oil and gas and power engineering, for example). So does it really make sense for Russia to produce military engines without including civil and industrial engines in the same cost structure thus depriving the Russian industry of its competitiveness?
To join the efforts of the major engine construction enterprises, the Russian government and aviation industry have created the United Engine Building Corporation (ODK). How do its functions differ from those of the Association of Aero Engine Manufacturers (ASSAD), and will it be able to help the civil engine manufacturers to gain the terrain that they used to have?
In the 1990ies Russia had no authority which could coordinate a technologically challenging industry like engine construction. As a response, ASSAD was founded on May 31, 1991. The idea was to create an association without charter capital and – to a large extent – free from the control of state authorities to be able to analyze the problems that the business is facing and compile offers for the government. We were doing this work in the 1990ies when the environment in the industry was particularly challenging.
Unfortunately, the Russian economy faces massive reforms every 3-4 years. It’s a good illustration of why the famous Chinese damnation refers to the time of changes. When the engine construction industry was recovering, each reform was leading to a fall. Last year, in spite of the crisis, most companies showed good performance, and the average growth over ASSAD reached 17%.
When aviation was regulated by the Ministry of Aviation Industry, a 1,100-strong staff was in charge; now the aviation department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade has only 30 people. This is why the objective of the United Engine Building Corporation was to create a dedicated structure for engine construction. It is in charge of state regulation and accounts for 70% of the total volume in the engine sector with as few as 15 enterprises while ASSAD has 106, with 75 of them in Russia. Although the United Engine Building Corporation has been working for a year only, the results are very good so far: the Corporation has defined the product range, analyzed the current condition of the industry and organized a corporate management system. A good example of how it works is the idea of a single gas-powered generator for the Russian civil engine family suggested by a constructor from Perm. During 4 years it has been circulating among different state structures with no results but now that ODK has created a cooperation system between the enterprises, it was decided to produce a gas-powered generator in 2010 and a full-size engine in 2011.
ASSAD sees its role as a coordinator of the work of other enterprises. Our main objective is to study the state of affairs in the industry and in the businesses and provide regular offers. One of the partners of ASSAD is OPK Oboronprom. I’m very satisfied with our cooperation with Mr. Reus, Head of Oboronprom. Our main concern is to ensure production of competitive engines and social well-being.
What are your expectations from the exhibition Engines 2010 and why will the foreign visitors be interested in it?
Engines 2010 is the only exhibition in the world that gathers all the engine constructors. Its main peculiarity is that the exhibits will be presented by integrated structures. The first one took place in 1990 back during the Soviet times. The strength of Russia is in the potential that will help to create a 6th generation military engine. The entire industry is based on science.
What can Engines 2010 offer to foreigners? Firstly, there’s an enormous space presenting the Russian engine construction industry. Secondly, this is an opportunity to negotiate with the participants of the exhibition as you can meet all the major Russian and Ukrainian enterprises. Thirdly, this is an opportunity to participate in conferences and present reports to attract the attention of the Russian companies, hear the reports and learn more about the opportunities of further cooperation with Russia.
Cooperation and specialization are the two most important things in the business: they allow sharing the financial risks and implementing all the best from each company. I’m not saying that we’re only for Russian products: we’re for Russian products created in cooperation with foreign companies.
What can Russia offer to foreign companies in future?
I would say that we can produce very high quality combustion chambers. We also have good results for ventilation stages, composite materials, digital control systems for the engines (FADEC) and a few other achievements. Most importantly, ASSAD is a chance for small companies that develop advanced technologies to complete and integrate them.
| Company: | Association of Aero Engines Manufacturers - Международная ассоциация "Союз авиационного двигателестроения" |
| Position: | President and Director |
| Country: | Russian Federation |