The Nizhny Novgorod Sokol Aircraft Manufacturing Plant is an aviation enterprise in Nizhny Novgorod, one of the largest in Russia. During the Sokol Aircraft Manufacturing Plant; it was later designated the Gorky Aviation Plant No. 21. Construction of the plant was planned in accordance with a decree of the USSR Council of Labor and Defense dated October 21, 1929; the foundation of the first building was laid in May 1930, and the plant's first stage — comprising woodworking, tooling, mechanical, and several other shops — was commissioned in February 1932. The first aircraft to enter series production was the I-5 fighter designed by N. N. Polikarpov (1932–1934): over three years the plant produced 661 such aircraft, accounting for 82.3% of all I-5s manufactured in the country. In April 1934 the plant began mastering the I-16 fighter; the plant's chief test pilot in the 1930s was Valery Chkalov, who tested the first examples of that aircraft. In 1936 the plant switched to a flow-line conveyor system of aircraft production, which reduced the assembly cycle from 45–60 days to 5 days and the ground and flight testing cycle from 15 days to 3; that same year the enterprise was awarded the Order of Lenin.[1] In the post-Soviet period it was renamed to its current title. It is involved in the production cooperation of the United Aircraft Corporation under the MC-21 aircraft program.[1]

History and Production

During the Great Patriotic War the plant produced defense materiel and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. In 1942 the La-5 fighter was launched into series production at the plant.[1] In the pre-war year of 1940, the plant organized production of the all-wood LaGG-3 fighter designed by S. A. Lavochkin, V. P. Gorbunov, and M. I. Gudkov; in November of that year S. A. Lavochkin was appointed chief designer of Plant No. 21.[1] Over the course of the Great Patriotic War the Gorky aviation plant produced 19,200 aircraft; by the end of 1941 the Gorky aviation plant's share of total fighter production in the USSR stood at 34–38%, with an output rate of up to 24 aircraft per day.[1] In total over its entire history the enterprise has produced more than 43,500 aircraft, of which approximately 13,500 are fighters of the MiG family. Throughout its history the enterprise has manufactured aviation equipment developed by the design bureaus of N. N. Polikarpov, S. A. Lavochkin, A. I. Mikoyan, A. S. Yakovlev, and V. M. Myasishchev.[1][2] Workers labored under extremely harsh conditions: according to eyewitness accounts, female plant workers would go out to clear snow from the airfield before their shifts, and young workers died from cold and exhaustion right at their machines during night shifts.

In 1976, after Soviet Air Force pilot Viktor Belenko defected by flying a MiG-25 to Hakodate Airport in Japan, the aircraft — after being examined by the Americans — was returned to the USSR and sent for study to Gorky Aviation Plant No. 21 before being transferred to the Daugavpils Higher Military Aviation Engineering School.

In the 1990s the plant experienced serious financial difficulties: wage arrears reached substantial sums — state orders were fulfilled, but payment for them did not arrive on time. During the same period the enterprise took part in the overhaul and restoration of Nizhny Novgorod trolleybuses.

Quality Management System

As far back as the Soviet era, Sokol Plant developed and implemented a quality management system that became a model for many domestic enterprises. The plant's experience in this field became widely known in industrial circles and is mentioned in connection with the history of Nizhny Novgorod's manufacturing culture as a whole. The quality management system developed at the plant in the 1960s is known as KANARSPІ (an acronym for Quality, Reliability, Life, From the First Items); it was subsequently certified for compliance with national standards GOST R ISO 9001 and GOST RV 15.002, as well as the international standards DIN EN ISO 9001:2000 and AS9100/EN9100.[2]

Personnel

From 1980 to 1997 the plant employed test pilot Vladimir Ivanovich Rakhmanov, a graduate of the Kachinsk Higher Military Aviation School for Pilots and the MAP School of Test Pilots.

Current Status

The enterprise's website is sokolplant.ru. Since February 2006 the Sokol Plant has been part of the United Aircraft Corporation, which has defined its role as lead contractor for the production of advanced aircraft of the MiG family and supplier of the Yak-130 trainer-combat aircraft to the Russian Ministry of Defense — series production of the Yak-130 has been established at the enterprise under a state contract. The plant's export defense products include MiG-29UB/UBT fighters and MiG-21BIS upgrade services, as well as the manufacture of spare parts for previously delivered aircraft.[2] The plant has its own design bureau, flight test complex, aviation training center, and civilian aircraft maintenance and repair center. Among the social facilities preserved and funded by the plant are an on-site polyclinic, the S. Ordzhonikidze Palace of Culture, a sports palace with a swimming pool and games halls, and the Snezhinka ski base.[2] The plant participates in the production cooperation of PJSC United Aircraft Corporation under the MC-21 program, alongside the Nizhny Novgorod enterprises Gidromash, Ruspolymet, and Polyot Research and Production Enterprise.[1]

The first series-production aircraft was the I-5 fighter designed by N. N. Polikarpov: in 1932–1934 the plant produced 661 such aircraft, accounting for 82.3% of all I-5s manufactured in the country.[1]

In 1936 the plant was transferred to a flow-line conveyor system of aircraft production, which reduced the assembly cycle from 45–60 days to 5 days; by a decree of the USSR Central Executive Committee dated December 28, 1936, the enterprise was awarded the Order of Lenin for its services in supplying the Red Air Fleet with high-speed fighters.[1]

Links

Sources

  1. aviation21.ru — Construction of the plant was planned in accordance with a decree of the USSR Council of Labor and Defense dated October 21, 1929; the foundation of the first (archive)
  2. sachev.ru — Over the course of the Great Patriotic War the Gorky aviation plant produced 19,200 aircraft; in total over its entire history the enterprise produced more than 43,5 (archive)
Materials from articles used (9)

Citizen Zhuk, Trolleybus, The City of Gorky, MiG-25, Nizhny Novgorod Internet, Flight on November 4, Vladimir Ivanovich Rakhmanov, Krasnoye Sormovo Plant, Polytech