The Vnukovo MRO Facility # 400 Celebrates Its 70th Anniversary Today  

Today marks the 70th Anniversary of the Vnukovo MRO Facility #400's operation. It was on May 10, 1941 that the Vnukovo Aviation Repair Shops first opened for business, likewise starting the first page in the Facility's long and venerable history.

From the very first days of the Great Patriotic War the workforce had been presented with a succession of extremely challenging tasks. Among them was the military assignment of developing, manufacturing and installing - initially as a test example -armaments on the PS-84 aircraft. Within a mere four day's time the work had been finished and a dorsal turret housing a UBT large-caliber machine gun installed, along with two more SHKASS machine guns mounted on each side of the aircraft's fuse. The test example had completed both flight and firepower tests and received production prototype status along the lines of which the entire PS-84 fleet was subsequently armed.

In December 1942 the Vnukovo Aviation Repair Shops were renamed the Vnukovo Aviation Repair Base (ARB-400).

After the Battle of Stalingrad the USSR came into possession of numerous German-made Junkers-52 transports captured from the enemy. The job of restoring those aircraft to airworthiness fell to an ARB-400 team of mechanics.

In the mid-1950s new opportunities of graduating to jet-age MRO emerged for ARB-400 in the form of the governmental executive decision to significantly expand the Facility's infrastructure by building - to all intents and purposes - an all-new ARB-400, with the new hangars being in place soon thereafter to welcome the first Tu-104 jet airliner in for scheduled checks and maintenance. Concurrently with the mainline hangars, the construction of a cluster of jet engine MRO shops began.

In April 1962, ARB-400 received the name of Civil Aviation MRO Works 400, and in October of the same year the first Tu-114 intercontinental prop liner was brought in for maintenance.

August 16, 1966 saw the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Council award the Works a Lenin Order for advance completion of a seven-year production plan, the quality product the Facility turned out, and the advanced levels of technological innovation it pioneered in novel AC type MRO.

1974 saw the completion of the introductory phase of the Tu-154 trijet MRO program. The Facility also introduced the Tu-134A regional twin jet MRO program the same year.

In 1989 the MRO Works 400 undertook scheduled maintenance - following 10000 flight hours - of the first Soviet-made wide-body aircraft the IL-86.

July 1994 saw the incorporation of Public Joint-Stock Company The Vnukovo MRO Works 400 (JSC VARZ-400).

In 2005 the top management of Messrs. JSC VARZ-400 took a policy decision to expand its MRO capabilities to include western-made aircraft types and components, toward which end a quality management and assurance system went into implementation that same year, as well as preparations started to be made for the eventual certification by the EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) and the BDCA (Bermuda Department of Civil Aviation).

March 2006 saw VARZ-400 certified as per the EASA Part-145 requirements and the scheduled checks and line maintenance of the B-737 Classic models commenced.

The Facility underwent a scheduled EASA audit in May, 2010, further confirming VARZ-400's compliance with the EASA Part-145 requirements as regards the MRO of western AC types and components.

The Facility's MRO preexisting capabilities in this regard have been expanded to include:

- base maintenance of the Boeing 737-600/700/800/900 (Next Generation) models;

- testing of a range of the B-737 electronic assemblies (in conformity with the pre-approved C3, C5, C8 ratings, as well as with the new rating of C13) using the Russian -made NASKD-200 testbed;

- major overhaul of the B-737 landing gear struts (Rating C14) ;

The galvanic coating application processes and shops (preparation, application, final processing) have also been granted formal approval.

The Facility currently employs more than 1500 highly qualified experts that undergo mandatory certification, clearing them for specific jobs and operations. Every one of those directly involved with airframes and power plants has excellent command of technical English, since all of the AC maintenance manuals and auxiliary documentation come in that language. VARZ-400 maintains an in-house Training & Instruction Center at which technical English is taught to the employees, who also travel regularly to complete language refresher and upgrade-training courses taught in Europe and North America.

VARZ-400 has by now successfully met the EASA Part-147 certification requirements enabling it to conduct in-house training of special-category mechanics with AC MRO clearances.

Over the course of its existence VARZ-400 has made an invaluable contribution to the growth and development of the Russian civil aviation.

The Vnukovo International staff wish to join in the greetings and to extend their sincere wishes of wellbeing, prosperity, and new attainments to their colleagues at VARZ-400!