SERIES PRODUCTION, of the Aviadvigatel PS-90A turbofan at Perm Motors, has been approved, by the CIS Aviation Register. The certificate has only been issued for two years, during which time engine-reliability problems will have to be ironed out, says the aviation authority.
The engine has come in for severe criticism recently from Aeroflot general manager Yevgeniy Shaposhnikov, who says that in 1995 Aeroflot technicians replaced 31 faulty PS-90A engines on five Ilyushin Il-96-300 airliners.
Shaposhnikov says: "It is more profitable to give up altogether operating Russian-built aircraft, the Il-96-300 in particular, because all our profit is being spent not on renewing the fleet, not for raising efficiency of services, but for repairing engines."
Vladimir Kinderknecht, Perm Motors general director, says that the certificate is an "appreciation of our abilities to survive". He adds: "We have been given a chance which we must use without sparing any effort."
Source: Flight International
