On the edge of the blade: about 100 engines for the Mi-8 require urgent replacement
About 100 engines for Mi-8 helicopters in Russia require urgent replacement, the Helicopter Industry Association (AVI) told Izvestia. The operators have asked the government to develop a program in the Russian Federation that will solve this problem. Rostec and the UEC have confirmed that it is no longer advisable to indefinitely extend the service life of old power plants, and they need to be replaced with new ones. Companies are ready to do this, but financing is needed. For more information about the current situation in this area, see the Izvestia article.
Repair of helicopter engines
Representatives of the Helicopter Industry Association (AVI) told Izvestia about the problems with the overhaul of aircraft engines and difficulties in purchasing spare parts for rotorcraft.
According to AVI, by the end of 2022-2024, the price for the overhaul of the TV2-117 engine increased by 209%, and for TV3-117 — by 291%. A difficult situation is also developing with the AI-9B auxiliary installations designed to launch main engines. Their repairs have increased in price by 33%. In addition to the Mi-8, they are used on Ka-27, Ka-29, Ka-32, Ka-50, Mi-14, Mi-24, and Mi-28 helicopters. Repair difficulties also apply to Czech SAFIR 5K/G MI auxiliary power plants, as well as Russian TA-14-130-08 for Mi-8.
Installing the engine in the MI-8 series helicopter
The price increase for parts for the Mi-8/17 was 170-185%, for example, the cost of rotor blades increased by 189%. The situation is similar with the repair of technical components, reported in AVI.
"The price of engines has almost tripled after the overhaul," Dmitry Ermilov, General Director of the Russian House of Aviation spare parts operator, head of the working group on supplies of aviation equipment to AVI, told Izvestia. — If the repaired engine cost 25-30 million rubles before 2022, now it costs 75-90 million rubles.
Few of the operators incorporated such growth into their business models, the expert noted.
"For some critically important units, without which it is impossible to fly, the delivery time has been greatly extended, and now it is possible to join the queue for 2027-2028," said Dmitry Ermilov. — As a result, the flight time of aircraft (VS) is reduced.
The downtime of helicopters due to a shortage of spare parts, assemblies and engines for the period 2022-2024 averaged one to three months per year per aircraft, and in some cases stretched for six months. The practice of "cannibalization" (rearranging parts from one aircraft to another) helps to return aircraft to service, but reduces the available fleet, the market participant notes.
— Every technique has a limit of operation, and it is already unprofitable to repair it for a long time. For some engines, the service life is already being extended from 3 thousand to 7.5 thousand hours. Some Mi-8T helicopters have been flying for more than 40 years and comprehensive solutions for the industry are overdue," Vyacheslav Kartsev, Chairman of the Board of AVI, told Izvestia. — We have sent a letter to the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin with a request to initiate the development of a strategy for the development of our transportation segment.
The main problem is to replace outdated engines with new ones, the expert noted.
Izvestia sent a request to the Cabinet of Ministers with a request to comment on AVI's request to develop a separate program for the remotorization of the Mi-8.
—Civil aviation needs about 100 new engines in the public domain, with two engines per ship,— Dmitry Ermilov continued. — In total, about 500-600 Mi-8s are currently in active service.
Rostec told Izvestia that they were familiar with the difficulties of the operators.
Employees work in the assembly shop of the Mi-8 helicopter modifications
"In some cases, there may be delays in terms of deadlines, the reasons are obvious here — aircraft manufacturers perform enormous amounts of work in the interests of the army, their capabilities are unlimited," the corporation told Izvestia. — However, there are no unsolvable problems. Anyone who wants to repair a helicopter will definitely do it.
The United Engine Corporation (UEC) has the capacity and competence to produce new and service existing helicopter engines, including the TV3-117, Rostec added.
As the UEC told Izvestia, the TV2-117 is the most difficult to repair, since they were developed in the mid-1960s, and their production was completed in the 1990s. This is a very outdated technique. In particular, the characteristics of the engine do not meet modern safety requirements. The UEC does not carry out major repairs and does not maintain these helicopter engines, they added.
— There are many old Mi-8s with TV2-117 engines flying in Russia. There are helicopters that are more than 50 years old," the Rostec press service noted. — We are forced to extend the service life at the request of airlines if the equipment continues to meet safety requirements, as we understand their socio-economic importance. But it's impossible to do this indefinitely.
According to the UEC, the TV2-117 has been replaced by the next generation of engines, the TV3—117 family, various modifications of which, under the name VK-2500, are produced by the St. Petersburg company ODK-Klimov.
— The operation of helicopters with outdated engines may pose a safety risk. Our enterprises have sufficient capacities to replace the outdated TV2-117 with modern VK-2500," Rostec Corporation said.
Izvestia sent requests to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Transport, the Federal Air Transport Agency, as well as major airlines and helicopter manufacturers.
"Engine repair and maintenance issues are not within the competence of the Russian Helicopters holding company, while the equipment is being produced within the time limits stipulated in contracts with customers," the company told Izvestia.
The service life of aircraft engines
— Mi-8T/Mi-8P helicopters with TV2-117 engines were produced from the mid-1960s to the first half of the 1990s. Then the modernized Mi-8MTV with TV3-117 engines went into civil aviation. The industry has consistently reduced the volume of production of basic components for old equipment," Oleg Panteleev, Executive Director of the Aviport agency, told Izvestia.
MI-8 Assembly Line
As a result, two processes are developing: The production of components is becoming less attractive for manufacturers, and the shortage of spare parts and an increase in repair time are pushing airlines to rejuvenate the fleet, the aviation expert notes.
"The problem of maintaining the airworthiness of older models of the Mi-8 family began in the early days, when the Russian Helicopters Holding Company (BP) began offering more expensive modifications of the Mi-171 (upgraded Mi-8) with a TV3-117 engine," Andrey Patrakov, founder of the RunAvia flight safety service, told Izvestia.
To fix this, manufacturers have raised the cost of servicing units for older Mi-8s, the expert noted.
According to Andrey Patrakov, manufacturers of helicopters and engines benefit from encouraging operators to switch to new models. The alternative to this is to buy up leftover spare parts and assemblies from the secondary market, as well as restoring mothballed sides, the expert believes.
A significant part of the spare parts inventory has already been used up, and after 2022, the priorities of the aviation industry have changed. An increase in prices in such a situation is inevitable, Oleg Panteleev noted.
Mi-8 helicopter Modification Assembly Shop
—Unlimited life extension and major repairs of obsolete TV2-117s pose a potential threat to the safety of carriers," the UEC press service told Izvestia. — No company produces parts of these engines, and parts from disassembled TV2-117s are used for repairs.
The company was recommended to replace the TV2-117 with the TV3-117/VK-2500 engines.
— To get out of the situation, industry regulators must step in and find a compromise between the interests of operators and manufacturers of helicopters and engines, — says Andrey Patrakov.
According to Dmitry Ermilov from AVI, to solve the problem, preferential leasing is needed to upgrade the fleet of helicopter engines. Without government support, operators will not be able to purchase new engines, he concluded.
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