At the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, where MC-21 passenger aircraft and Su-30SM combat aircraft are mass-produced, an industrial compressor manufactured exactly 100 years ago continues to operate. Despite its age, the unit remains part of the plant's power center and is used as a backup source of compressed air.
The compressor was manufactured in 1926 in New York by the American company Ingersoll-Rand. Together with a second similar unit, it first worked at the Bodaibo gold mines, and then, during the construction of the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, it was transported to the new enterprise. Since 1934, the equipment has been supplying production facilities with compressed air.
In the first decades of the plant's operation, these piston compressors fully covered the production needs. Only in the 1970s were they replaced by a more productive turbocompressor station. However, the old machines were not decommissioned but kept in reserve for use during repairs of main equipment or during periods of increased load.
One working unit has survived to this day. The second one was stopped several years ago after crankshaft bearings failed. The remaining compressor continues to be operated, and its technical condition is maintained through regular maintenance and timely repairs.
The enterprise notes that after a century of operation, equipment wear remains minimal. The history of this compressor has become a vivid example of how durable industrial equipment can be with proper operation. Today, the machine, manufactured in the first quarter of the 20th century, continues to be a backup part of the infrastructure of one of Russia's key aircraft factories, where modern civil and combat aircraft are produced.