OREANDA-NEWS. January 9, 2013. A historical hangar built in 1934 at Tyumen’s Plekhanovo International Airport and belonging to UTair Group subsidiary UTair-Engineering has been restored. In the 1930s when Soviet aviation in the region was experiencing dramatic development seven such hangars were built. At that time, the hangars were unusual structures that drew a lot of attention for their unusual size and purpose. The hangar frames were built from wood and spanned 32.5 meters, an impressive size for structure without central support beams. The UTair-Engineering hangar is the only one of its kind remaining from this period.

In spite of the poor condition of the hangar, UTair-Engineering has decided to reconstruct it by preserving its historical components. The project was worked out by OBiUS in 2010 and reconstruction works were undertaken by Mostostroy-12. The metal works for floorings, weighing 76 tons and measuring 2,625 square meters, were produced by Tyumenstalmost. The company also reconstructed the hangar doors, 22 meters in width, and installed new heating and lighting systems. The historical hanger will see active duty as a base of UTair-Engineering helicopter servicing operations.

UTair-Engineering is a subsidiary of UTair Aviation and the largest MRO operator for helicopters of domestic and foreign production in Russia. The company has a broad network of more than 30 line stations in Russia and abroad. UTair-Engineering staff services more than 300 aircraft, providing full cycle maintenance work on all aircraft in the UTair fleet. In 2012 UTair-Engineering extended its MRO compliance certification according to Russian civil aviation regulation AP-145. In the summer the company received certification for performing repair operations on Robinson R44 helicopters issued by RobinsonHelicopterCompany. Thus UTair-Engineering became an authorized service center for Robinson helicopters in Russia.