We went to see the Kazan Helicopter Plant. It is difficult to cover all the work of the enterprise in a quick tour format. Usually it takes me at least a whole day to shoot like this. But I’ll show you what we managed to see.

Kazan Helicopter Plant is a manufacturer of helicopters of the Mi-8/17 family, part of the Russian helicopter manufacturing holding Russian Helicopters of the Rostec state corporation. Helicopters Russian production, manufactured in Kazan, have accumulated more than 50 million flight hours worldwide. Over the entire history of KVZ, more than 12,000 Mi-4, Mi-8, Mi-14, Mi-17, Ansat helicopters and their modifications have been delivered to 100 countries around the world.

The plant dates its history back to September 4, 1940, when by order of the People's Commissariat of the Aviation Industry the Leningrad Aviation Plant No. 387 was created, which was later evacuated to Kazan and merged with the Kazan Convoy Parts Plant No. 169. Since the aviation fate of the enterprise was determined in 1940, it was From this date the history of the current KVZ begins. During the war years, the enterprise produced about 11,000 Po-2 biplanes for the front. By 1945, the production of combat aircraft at the plant increased 3.5 times: from 100 to 350 units per month. Every tenth combat aircraft produced by the USSR aviation industry during the Great Patriotic War was assembled here.

In 1951, KVZ began production of Mi-1 helicopters - this was the first mass production of rotorcraft in the USSR. The Mi-4 helicopter, produced at the plant since 1954, became the first domestic helicopter supplied for export. In 1965, the company began manufacturing the Mi-8, the most widespread and popular of all the Mi family helicopters.

In 1993, the company began developing Ansat, the only helicopter designed and built in Russia in the post-Soviet period. In 1997, KVZ received an official certificate from the MAK Aviation Register, allowing it to develop helicopters, and the first Ansat prototype with a fly-by-wire system was created. In 1999 he made his first flight. At the moment, Ansat, along with the main products of the plant, the Mi-17 helicopter, includes the current the lineup enterprises.

1. Let's look at the assembly production of Mi-17 (and its family), Ansat and Mi-38 helicopters.

2. Today, the enterprise has the infrastructure typical for multi-batch production of mechanical engineering profiles, has a modern production and technological base certified for the production and repair of helicopters: KVZ carries out the full cycle of creating helicopter equipment from development and serial production to its after-sales support.

3. In a slipway assembly, the product is usually assembled in one place in an assembly device (slipway), which facilitates fixing in the desired position and crimping the assembled product. The photo shows Ansat fuselage fittings.

4. Part of the bottom of the Mi-17.

5. Almost finished Mi-17 fuselage.

6. A machine for drilling holes in the frame to which the tail boom is attached.

7. Ansat fuselages in varying degrees of completion. At the factory

8. The Mi-8 family of helicopters has been produced since 1965 and now more than 12,000 units have been produced. The Kazan Helicopter Plant produced more than 7,500 helicopters.

9. Mi-17V-5 fuselage.

10. Mi-8/17 are even operated in the USA. And for their company in Afghanistan, they turned out to be indispensable due to their survivability and ability to be repaired in field conditions.

11. The plant currently produces three main modifications of the helicopter: Mi-172 - a passenger modification, designed to transport passengers. Special VIP modifications are also available. Mi-17V-5 is a transport modification, designed to transport cargo inside the cabin and on an external sling. Can be used to transport rescuers. Mi-17-1V is a multi-purpose modification, on the basis of which helicopters for various purposes, including a flying hospital, are produced.

12. In total, several dozen modifications were released. The helicopter is operated in dozens of countries.

13. And here is the Mi-38 cockpit on the right.

14. Beginning of design of the Mi-38 - 1981. Presentation of the model at Le Bourget - 1989. Model - August 1991. Presentation of the full-scale model - Mosaeroshow - 1992. Start of production of two prototypes - 1993. Presentation of the modified model - MAX- 95. The Mi-38 multi-purpose helicopter can be used to transport cargo and passengers, including VIPs, and can be used as a search and rescue helicopter and a flying ambulance, for flights over land and water areas. The Mi-38 has many progressive features (in particular: a “glass cockpit” for two pilots and extensive use of composite materials, including in the main and tail rotors). After a long journey, the first production cars are now being assembled at the plant.

15. After assembly and checking for leaks, the board is painted.

17. Mi-17V-5 cockpit

18. Ansats. Experimental specimens.

19. As they said at the factory, they deliberately did not make a composite fuselage on the Ansat. Firstly, this is the development and implementation new technology, and secondly - safety. The metal was bent during a rough landing - this place is visible. The piece was cut out, patched and back into the sky. But with a composite fuselage this will not work. And simply the place of the break will not be visible - only instrumental control.

20. Marketing and Sales Director of the Kazan Helicopter Plant Valery Pashko and the experienced Ansat. The barometric instrument sensors are located on the rod so that the housing and propeller do not interfere with them during testing.

21. Mi-17V-5.

21. Small demonstration flights were arranged especially for us.

23. The Mi-17 helicopter costs on average $15 million.

24. Yellow boxes are vibration dampers. With them it is reduced by half. I flew on boards without them - the vibration stand is still the same.

25. Cabin. You can even buy this board. He is assembled, covered. All defects were shaken out of it. Miracle, not a machine.

26. VIP lounge.

27. And the test pilot, having landed the Mi-17, moved to Ansat.

28. The first prototype of the helicopter was assembled in May 1997. The first flight took place in 1999. In 2011, the certification process for the civilian version of the helicopter began. In August 2013, a type certificate was received from the Aviation Register of the Interstate Aviation Committee. To date, more than 20 units have been delivered to customers.

31. You can buy from 5 million dollars, which is three times cheaper than the Mi-17.

32. Ansat cabin.

33. "Ground computer".

34. VIP lounge.

35. Crew of test pilots: Viktor Rusetsky and Gennady Goncharov.

36. Of course, the simulator.

37. Behind the handle

PJSC Kazan Helicopter Plant (Kazan) is one of the key enterprises of the Russian Helicopters holding company. The products of this enterprise constitute a significant part of its supplies. In addition, KVZ developed and brought into serial production a new type of machine - the Ansat light helicopter.

Historical reference

The history of the enterprise is inextricably linked with the Leningrad aircraft plant No. 387. With the beginning of the war, it was evacuated to Kazan. The helicopter plant was reorganized in 1951, when the production of the first Mi-1 rotorcraft in the USSR was launched in the capital of the Tatar Republic. Since 1954, the Mi-4 has been produced here, and since 1965, the legendary Mi-8.

helicopter factory(Kazan) in 1970 became a recipient of the order - for the previously achieved successes and the development of the unique Mi-14 amphibious helicopter, the team was awarded. In 1980, the company was awarded the Golden Mercury award.

New era

The beginning of the 90s (the time of the collapse of the USSR) became difficult for the plant. Incorporation process, shortage working capital, the loss of part of the sales market could lead to a stop in production. However, the coherence of the team, the talent of designers and managers contributed to overcoming the crisis. It was during this period that the first stage of technical re-equipment began. The purchase of imported metal-cutting equipment made it possible to increase the accuracy of processing parts and assemble structures with complex geometries.

In 1993, the helicopter plant (Kazan) began designing the multi-purpose Ansat. By the way, this was the only case of developing a new untested model aircraft in the 90s. The Kazan people took a risk, put the authority of the enterprise on the line and brought the project to mass production. Today Ansat is the only domestic helicopter of this class.

Products

The 2000th helicopter plant was greeted in full armament. Kazan has become one of the world's leading centers for the production of rotorcraft of various types. Models for civilian, official and military purposes are collected here:

• Multi-purpose helicopter Mi-17 middle class.
• Its modifications of the Mi-171V (specialized, medical, etc.).
• Mi-17V5 (transport, rescue).
• Mi-172 (passenger).
• "Ansat".
• Multi-purpose Mi-38 middle class.

Enterprise pride

Still, the favorite brainchild of the factory workers is their original development - the light-class Ansat helicopter. For more than a decade, its appearance was polished; numerous consultations were held with the responsible departments and potential consumers. If in the 90s the country did not have enough funds to purchase new models of high-tech avionics, then in the mid-2000s progress was made.

In 2005, the Kazan Helicopter Plant presented a prototype of the maneuverable light combat helicopter Ansat-2RTs at the MAKS exhibition. I liked the car, but the competition in the field military equipment in Russia is high. The emphasis was placed on the civilian version, which is so lacking in the country. In 2013, certification of a cargo-passenger modification with a mechanical control system took place.

Today, the Ansat program is developing in military and civilian directions. The Ansat-U training helicopter is already being purchased by the Russian Ministry of Defense for training cadets at flight schools and is being supplied serially under a contract. The civilian version of the helicopter was certified in stages in 2013-2015. The delays were caused by the integrated (fly-by-wire) control system installed on Ansat. It turned out to be too innovative. The helicopter plant (Kazan) turned out to be a pioneer here. At least if we take the 90s (the first Ansat prototype was created in 1997), then the Kazan people were pioneers in the world in introducing this system.

There are a lot of similar models on the world market (Eurocopter helicopters, for example). But the civilian version of Ansat competitive advantages the same as for the Mi-8/17 helicopter. First of all, this is the price-quality ratio.

Modernization of production

The helicopter plant (Kazan), the photo of which is impressive, continues to develop. In September 2015, a unit assembly building was opened at Kazan Helicopter Plant, designed for models and Ansat. It was created as part of a plant modernization project that started in 2008. The new premises housed several assembly areas for fuselages of all three types. Detailed assembly and installation of the skin, strength elements, and other fuselage components is also carried out there. Thanks to the commissioning of the building, KVZ plans to achieve greater productivity and improve quality.

Previously, assembly areas were located in two separate areas. Their combination in one building significantly reduced logistics costs. Accordingly, the time spent on assembling helicopters has been reduced. Production volume increased, and deliveries of finished vehicles to consumers accelerated.

The new hull features a unique sprinkler chamber designed to test fuselages for leaks. Having a closed circuit in which water circulates, the camera is capable of simulating rain of any strength. To check one fuselage, up to 9 m 3 of water is required. The case is equipped with sound insulation, minimizing the penetration of noise outside. All necessary drawings are transferred to the site using paperless technology through computer terminals.

Geography of supplies

KVZ helicopters fly in more than 100 countries around the world. These are countries in Asia, the Asia-Pacific region, Africa, and Latin America. Markets where Kazan equipment is represented less - Western Europe, USA, Canada. Every year, depending on the number of contracts, helicopters are supplied to 4-8 countries. The share of exports in sales is about 80%.

Kazan Helicopter Plant has special hopes for the Ansat helicopter. The civilian version targets all traditional markets. These are Russia, the CIS countries, Southeast Asia, Africa, South and Latin America. Applications are submitted as domestic commercial structures, and foreign. The first of the foreign partners of Ansata was purchased by the Chinese. A separate development is the military training and patrol modification "Ansat-U". The Air Force has already purchased 40 units, and contracts are expected from partner countries - Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Helicopter plant, Kazan: address

The enterprise occupies about 2 km 2 in the western part of the city. PJSC "Kazan Helicopter Plant" is located at the address: 420085, Republic of Tatarstan, Kazan city, Tetsevskaya street, 14.

Kazan Helicopter Plant is a manufacturer of Mi-8/17 helicopters, which is part of the Russian helicopter-building concern Russian Helicopters. Russian-made helicopters manufactured in Kazan have flown all over the world. more than 50 million flight hours During the entire existence of the Kazan Helicopter Plant, more than 12 thousand helicopters, Mi-14, Mi-4, Ansat, Mi-17 and their variations were delivered to one hundred countries around the world.

Story

The plant’s history begins on 09/04/1940, when, by order of the People’s Commissariat of the Aviation Industry, the Leningrad Aviation Plant No. 387 was built, which was then evacuated to Kazan during the war and merged with the Kazan Aircraft Parts Plant No. 169. Since in 1940 the aviation share of the enterprise, it is from this date that the history of the current Kazan Helicopter Plant begins. During the war years, the enterprise produced about eleven thousand Po-2 biplanes for the front - for this, in 1945, the plant staff was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. At the plant, by 1945, the production of military aircraft per month increased from one hundred to about fifty copies (3.5 times). Every tenth military aircraft produced by the aviation industry of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Second World War was created here. Involved actively in the post-war renewal National economy, and in 1947-1951 the plant produced over 9 thousand of the country's first S-4 (self-propelled combine harvesters).

In 1951, the Kazan Helicopter Plant began manufacturing Mi-1 helicopters - it became the first mass production of rotorcraft in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The Mi-4 helicopter, manufactured at the plant since 1954, became the first Soviet helicopter exported abroad. In 1965, the enterprise began serial production of the Mi-8, the most popular and mass-produced of all Mi-class helicopters.

Plant No. 387 was renamed the Kazan Helicopter Plant in 1966. In 1973, the enterprise mastered the production technology of the Mi-14, an amphibious helicopter widely used in naval aviation. Successes achieved labor collective were awarded the International Golden Mercury Prize in 1980, and the Order of the October Revolution in 1970.

Despite the fact that in the 90s there were objective problems in the development of the Russian aviation industry, the plant received the right to participate in the international market and was converted into an open Joint-Stock Company, which made it possible to re-equip production, introduce modern technologies assembling devices of complex geometry and processing materials.

In 1993, the company began developing Ansat, the only helicopter designed and created in Russia in the post-Soviet period. In 1997, the Kazan Helicopter Plant received an official certificate from the MAK Aviation Register, allowing it to develop helicopters, and the first Ansat prototype equipped with a fly-by-wire system appeared. It made its first flight in 1999. Ansat is currently included in the updated model range of the plant, along with the Mi-17 helicopter, the main product of the plant.

Kazan Helicopter Plant in 2007 became part of the Russian Helicopters concern.

Products

The company today owns the infrastructure characteristic of machine-building multi-batch production, has a modernized technological and production base that allows for the production and repair of helicopters: Kazan Helicopter Plant carries out the entire cycle of construction of helicopter equipment from design and serial production to its warranty support.

Mi-17 is a multi-purpose medium helicopter, which is an improved version of the Mi-8 helicopter. At the moment, more than eleven thousand helicopters of this type have been produced. Currently, the Kazan Helicopter Plant is mass producing three main variations:

Mi-172 is a passenger variation, intended to transport passengers. Special VIP variations are also produced;

Mi-17-V5 is a transport variation, designed to transport cargo on an external sling and inside the cabin. Actively used during rescue operations;

Mi-17-1V is a multi-purpose variation, on the basis of which helicopters for various purposes are produced, including a hospital on departure.

Ansat is a multi-purpose light helicopter developed directly by the Kazan Helicopter Plant. The Ansat helicopter series is actively developing in two directions: civil and military. The Ansat-U training helicopter is being purchased by the Russian Ministry of Defense for centers military training and flight schools and is supplied serially. With the help of quick-detachable installations, the Ansat multi-purpose helicopter is able to quickly re-equip for a wide range of tasks: passenger transportation, cargo delivery, patrolling, search and rescue operations, emergency medical care, fire fighting.

According to the program of the Russian Helicopters Concern for the creation of a multi-purpose medium-sized Mi-38 helicopter, the enterprise is responsible for the construction of prototypes of the helicopter and the adjustment of its mass production.

In order to ensure the competitiveness of their products, improvements are carried out throughout the life of the helicopter. after-sales service. To service the machines currently in use, the Kazan Helicopter Plant has a modernized repair base that provides a high degree of repair and restoration of helicopters.

Production

According to the objectives of the technical re-equipment of the plant, it continues to be equipped with high-performance state-of-the-art equipment, unified procedures and processes are being implemented. The development of the industrial base is aimed at reducing costs and, thus, reducing the cost of production and increasing the volume of products produced. At the same time, the task has been set to increase the reliability and quality of manufactured helicopters, to increase the range of helicopters in terms of standard sizes and available capabilities.

Experimental design bureau and research work of the enterprise

The company, as a developer, plans to build targeted variations and modernized versions of the Ansat helicopter; performing work on ultra-light helicopters weighing up to one and a half tons, up to two and a half tons. Together with the open joint-stock company “Moscow Helicopter Plant named after Mil M.L. » modernization of mass-produced Mi-8/17 helicopters and preliminary preparations for mass production of the Mi-38 helicopter are underway. The research and scientific activities of the enterprise are concentrated on increasing economic effect production and technical level of the plant to obtain product developments that will be competitive. Every year up to two hundred people participate in inventive and rationalization activities. Of the three hundred proposals submitted by them, about thirty patents for industrial designs, inventions, utility models and about two hundred and fifty rationalization proposals are being implemented.

We visited the Kazan Helicopter Plant, which is part of the Russian Helicopters holding company, as bloggers who had never been there before. We were shown the mechanical assembly shop, the final assembly shop, some of the territory of the plant itself, and even a test flight of the Mi-8.

But first things first.

The history of the Kazan Helicopter Plant dates back to 1933, when a wood processing plant was founded on the banks of the Volga in Kazan. And the plant itself dates back to September 4, 1940, when the Leningrad Aviation Plant No. 387 was created by order of the People's Commissariat of the Aviation Industry, which was later evacuated to Kazan and merged with the Wagon Parts Plant No. 169. The aviation fate of the enterprise was determined in 1940, it is from this date that the history of the current Kazan Helicopter Plant JSC begins. In 1941, light biplanes became the first aircraft produced by the plant.

The number of Po-2s produced during the war years exceeded 10,000 (more precisely, 11,334) aircraft, which accounted for 10% of all aircraft produced in the Soviet Union during the war years.
In 1951, the serial production of the Mi-1 helicopter, designed by M.L. Mil, began. The Mi-1 was replaced by the Mi-4.

In 1956, the Kazan Helicopter Plant began supplying helicopters for export.

In 1965, production of the Mi-8 helicopter began. This became a turning point in the history of the plant. The modern Mi-17 helicopter and its modifications are the result of vast experience gained during the production and operation of Mi-8 helicopters.

The Kazan Helicopter Production Association in 1993 was transformed into the Kazan Helicopter Plant Joint Stock Company, and in 1996 it became open - Kazan Helicopter Plant OJSC.

In the same year, a design bureau was created to develop a lightweight multi-purpose Ansat.

Today, KVZ remains the world's largest manufacturer of medium-class helicopters.

Traditional markets for Russian helicopter manufacturing: Russia, CIS countries, countries of Southeast Asia, Africa, Central and South America. Currently, KVZ supplies equipment to approximately 90 countries around the world (products of the Russian Helicopters holding company as a whole are represented in more than 110 countries around the world).

It is planned to reach a level of over 100 machines per year with almost no change in the composition of the work team - about 7 thousand people with an average age of 36 years (in mechanical production shops; the average age at the plant today is 43.2 years). And this was achieved through the reorganization of production, which began in the early 2000s with the renovation of workshops.

An equally important stage in the reorganization of the enterprise followed with the purchase of new equipment for machining production. We purchased foreign-made machines, as a result of which labor intensity fell and labor productivity increased 4 times.

The frames are now processed on four three- and five- coordinate machines, which replaced 24 old ones (three lines of 8 machines each). Russia, unfortunately, does not yet produce machines of this level. The photo shows processed stamping before coating.

The finished frames are used for further assembly.

A part for the swashplate for Ansat used to be made in 18 hours, and now it takes 12. Due to processing on several machines, the marriage was a high percentage. Now the entire turning part, milling, drilling are carried out within one cycle. And this happens with many details.

One of the photos shows an annular frame that goes to the tail boom on a serial helicopter.

Vibration damper hub. Not every client orders it. It used to take 136 hours to make this hub, now it takes 18 - the time has been reduced by almost eight times!

The service of the chief technologist is located right there in the workshop behind a glass partition and there is no need to wait for a long time, as before, for a specialist until he arrives from another building.

The milling workshop operates 2 lines from Mazak. One (4 machines) processes light alloys (duralumin), the other (3 machines) processes only steel. Each machine has its own magazine for 120 tools, and on the “steel” line there is also a magazine center for 240 units. Tool replacement on the “steel” line is generated automatically - this is included in the software.

Let's say the cutter has run out of life, computer program signals the end of the assigned resource, the running carriage picks up the cutter from the machine, makes an exchange and further processing of the part begins. And the operator takes away his used cutter. The tool is resharpened, its characteristics change and it is sent to another production facility. All tools have chips on which the life history of the part is recorded.

During the restructuring, this workshop increased its capacity more than three times. If previously we did 6 thousand standard hours, now the plan is approaching 21 thousand, and from January 2014 there will be even more.

1Previously, every day a dump truck loaded with duralumin shavings left here, now there is 4 times more waste, but the shavings turn into briquettes that are convenient for transportation, which, after melting, go to other types of industry.
Every 28 seconds, a duralumin briquette falls out of the press. Every 32 seconds - steel. The cost of briquettes on the market is 4-5 times more than just shavings. The compactor cannot make twisted shavings into briquettes, so they end up in the “meat grinder” and after grinding they also take up less space.

Cleanliness is a pledge economic growth production.

We move to the assembly shop.

From the start of assembly to the first flight, the helicopter stays here for an average of one month, including painting production.

OJSC Kazan Helicopter Plant, part of the Russian Helicopters holding company, produces the Mi-8/17 family of helicopters, which are operated in more than 100 countries around the world.

A wide range of modifications of these helicopters are produced: transport, passenger, rescue, airborne transport and many others.

Since 1997, KVZ OJSC has had a helicopter technology developer certificate: today in serial production there is a light twin-engine Ansat helicopter.

Russian Helicopters Holding is one of the world leaders in the helicopter industry, the only developer and manufacturer of helicopters in Russia, one of the few companies in the world with the capabilities of design, production, testing and Maintenance modern civil and military helicopters.

As of 2013, Russian Helicopters enterprises produced 35% of the world fleet of combat helicopters, 17% of the world fleet of super-heavy helicopters with a maximum take-off weight of more than 20 tons, as well as 56% of the world fleet of medium-heavy helicopters with a maximum take-off weight of 8 to 15 tons.

Modifications of Mi-8/17 helicopters produced in Kazan are a new generation of equipment.

Unique flight performance, the most modern avionics and special equipment manufactured by Russian and Western companies allow you to fly at high altitudes, in adverse weather conditions, at any time of the day, in automatic mode.

The multi-purpose helicopter is capable of performing a wide range of tasks: transporting cargo, passengers, firefighting, search and rescue, evacuation of the wounded.

In a short period of time, the Mi-8/17 can be converted from transport to firefighting, search and rescue or ambulance. Options "salon", "flying hospital" and others are possible.

The high level of safety, reliability, simplicity and low cost of operation and maintenance make the Mi-8/17 one of the best-selling helicopters in its class.

There are two types of blades - metal and composite. Composite has a higher resource and less weight, but at the same time it requires more expensive maintenance when replacing or repairing.

Black box in the tail boom.

Medium transport and passenger helicopter Mi-38.

This new generation helicopter is capable of providing new level comfort and safety in the performance of passenger transportation and special work in category A (FAR-29). In its basic configuration, the Mi-38 can carry 30 passengers.

Today the Mi-38 project has entered a new stage.

The third flight prototype is being tested at the flight test base of the Moscow Helicopter Plant named after M.L. Mil (part of Russian Helicopters). This prototype is equipped with two TV7-117V turboshaft engines developed by Klimov OJSC.

The first prototype Mi-38 OP-1 made its first flight (hovering) on ​​December 22, 2003, and the second prototype Mi-38 OP-2 on December 24, 2010. Both of these helicopters were powered by a single set of Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127/5 turboshaft engines. The first Mi-38 OP-1 helicopter, after the PW127/5 engines were removed from it, was converted in 2011 into a prototype of the Mi-38-2 variant with the installation of TV7-117V engines.

JSC KVZ has begun assembling the fourth flight prototype. The helicopter of standard design OP-4 will differ from the prototype OP-3 by its shock-resistant fuel system from Aerazur and enlarged window openings.

In addition to the production of flight prototypes in 2013, as part of the development work on the Mi-38 helicopter, the process of manufacturing the fuselage and a set of individual units for fatigue testing, as well as components and assemblies for bench tests, is underway. OP-4 is the last prototype of the helicopter before the start of serial production, planned for 2015.

"Ansat" in the Tatar language means "comfortable", "light".

In 1993, a design bureau was created at KVZ, the goal of which was to develop a helicopter with a maximum take-off weight of 3.3 tons, which must meet the aviation requirements of FAR-29.

In February 1997, KVZ received a certificate from the MAK aviation register, which allows the development of these helicopters. The first flight of the Ansat light multi-purpose helicopter was carried out in 1999 by test pilot V.M.Rusetsky.

Flight performance

• transportation of goods and passengers to remote and hard-to-reach settlements
• use as an air taxi in the city and between settlements
• delivery of workers' shifts to offshore drilling rigs
• use of helicopter for corporate transportation and general aviation