S7 Technics has launched Russia and the CIS’s second repair shop for the CFM56 aero engines that power Airbus A320 family and Boeing 737 aircraft.
The facility is located at S7 Technics’ southern base at Mineralnye Vody Airport (IATA: MRV) and combines several facilities: an aircraft bearings inspection section, a dedicated zone for powerplant unit repairs, and a separate station for part cleaning of engines.
The shop is equipped with a customized increased durability overhead crane with lifting devices (telphers) for the disassembly and assembly of engines and their components. The 850-square meter facility employs seven technicians and can simultaneously service up to four CFM56 engines.
The first such shop, which S7 Technics launched at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport (IATA: DME) in 2016, is able to handle two engines at a time. So with this new addition, the service provider has tripled its CFM56 repair capabilities in Russia and the CIS.
Mineralnye Vody has already won its first contract, from freight carrier ATRAN. The CFM56 engine was delivered to Mineralnye Vody by road. “The task is to replace the HP compressor cases and the LP compressor before the end of June,” explains Viktor Rusin, chief of the MRV engine repair shop. “Although the customer airline is based in central Russia, the logistics costs were not overwhelming, because alternative MRO opportunities exist only outside the CIS,” he adds.
“It was important for us to find a reliable engine maintenance provider in Russia to bring down the overhead costs and cut aircraft down times. We are confident that the equipment and the level of competence of the staff of S7 Technics’ CFM56 repair facility will enable us to have all engine maintenance tasks accomplished on time and with due quality,” comments Dmitry Obsharov, general director of ATRAN. “Our airline’s strategy of maintaining the airworthiness of our fleet includes creating a network of reliable maintenance partners, which includes S7 Technics, that would be capable of supporting our growth plans and the high operational standards of delivering freight by air,” Obsharov adds.
The new engine repair shop will also be actively involved in S7 Technics’ re-delivery check projects. “The number of re-delivery checks at Mineralnye Vody is on a steady rise and with such projects often revealing the need for engine repair works, the opening of this new facility at Mineralnye Vody will help reduce the overall time required for re-delivery checks,” Rusin points out.