A Wealth of Experience: Yuri’s Journey in Turbine Overhaul

For Yuri Vorontsov, a career in aviation began more than four decades ago, long before Salus Aviation existed in its current form.

After graduating from an Aerospace University in Ukraine in 1980, Yuri went on to work with the Soviet Air Force and later a Design Bureau in Ukraine. In 1995 he moved to New Zealand, where he joined the Airwork turbine shop in 1998, before later becoming part of the Oceania Turbine team.

“I did not come to Salus, Salus came after us,” Yuri says with a smile.

Today, Yuri is a Licensed Turbine Overhaul Engineer and one of the most experienced members of the team.

Yuri’s connection with the business stretches back 28 years. Following a seven-year hiatus, he returned to the team and has now accumulated 21 years with the business, bringing decades of turbine experience to his role.

Building a Turbine team

Yuri’s longevity with the business has been shaped not only by his technical experience, but by the role he has played in developing those around him.

As one of the division’s most experienced Allison 250 engineers, Yuri naturally became a mentor to engineers joining the team.

“It just happened that I was the most experienced Allison 250 engineer in the division and, naturally, I had to train every new engineer who joined us,” he explains. “So there was, actually, no chance to think about any change.”

Rather than looking elsewhere, Yuri found satisfaction in watching the team develop and grow.

“Watching the team getting strong and successful brought me satisfaction.”

That focus on passing knowledge on continues today, as Yuri trains a new generation of engineers.

“Life is never boring,” he says. “I’m training a new generation of young talented engineers, and the future is looking bright.”

A milestone for the Turbine division

One of the most significant periods of Yuri’s career came during the development and expansion of the Oceania turbine operation.

From the founding of the shop in 2005 through to the move into the team’s current facility in 2014, Yuri witnessed the division evolve from its early beginnings into a much larger operation.

For him, the decision to invest in a significantly larger premises was more than simply a move to a bigger workshop. It represented recognition of what the team had achieved—and what it could become.

“Firstly, a decision to buy these much larger premises and then invest into rebuilding it to our requirements was a recognition of our achievements and potential,” Yuri says.

The team was able to design the workshop around the way it actually worked, creating a layout that supported a smoother workflow.

“We had a chance to plan the layout of the shop for the smooth workflow, and it worked.”

Looking back, Yuri describes this period as “the golden years of the division.”

When an engine became a blank canvas

Among the many projects Yuri has worked on over the years, one stands out for being considerably different from the usual turbine overhaul work.

He was given an unexpected task: create an engine cutaway, for a Middle Eastern flight academy.

Yuri had seen engine cutaways before. Most featured selected openings designed to reveal particular components, sometimes incorporating lighting or sound effects.

“To me, these were more for visual impressions, entertainment, like a Christmas tree,” he explains.

Yuri’s vision was different.

Instead, he wanted to expose the engine in a much more comprehensive way, creating a continuous cut along its full length and deep into its core.

The challenge was to reveal the internal workings of the engine while keeping the entire assembly as one piece—and, importantly, allowing the rotors to continue spinning.

It was not something he had done before.

“It took a good few hours of walking around the engine and scratching the head, until I came to the concept and had sketches of where to cut all the major parts.”

Then came the cutting.

“Cutting itself was fun.”

The challenge, apparently, was returning to normal turbine overhaul work afterwards.

“The hardest part was coming back to ‘normal’ jobs, where I had to tell myself: ‘Hang on, you can’t help yourself with the die grinder here!’”

The finished cutaway came out as intended and was even featured in an engineering magazine. The customer’s response was so positive that Yuri was asked to create another for the business, while an Australian customer also commissioned one.

It was an unusual project, but one that demonstrated the combination of technical understanding, problem-solving and practical skill that Yuri has developed throughout his career.

Detail, pride and doing the job properly

While technology and maintenance practices have changed considerably throughout Yuri’s career, some things have remained constant.

For him, what defines the Turbines team is the way they approach their work.

“The culture of attention to details and taking pride in our job.”

That attention to detail is particularly important in an industry where small things can have significant consequences.

Yuri’s own philosophy is straightforward: if something does not look right, investigate it.

“If there is the slightest hint of something abnormal, do not brush it aside, however insignificant it might seem.”

His advice to engineers joining the team is to keep investigating until they are completely satisfied with what they have found.

“Don’t leave any stone unturned. Dig to the very bottom, until fully satisfied. Then you’ll sleep better.”

It is advice shaped by decades of experience—and by an understanding that good engineering is often about noticing the things that others might overlook.

Working alongside customers

Technical expertise is only part of what Yuri believes has set the Turbines team apart.

The team has traditionally worked closely with customers, building relationships that go beyond simply completing a maintenance task.

“We always have been known for working closely with the customers and being on their side,” Yuri says.

In a relatively small aviation industry, he believes that approach benefits everyone.

“This is a small industry and supporting each other works both ways.”

That customer-focused philosophy, combined with technical expertise and a strong sense of pride in the work, has helped shape the team Yuri has been part of for decades.

Looking ahead

After more than four decades in aviation, Yuri’s career has spanned enormous changes in aircraft maintenance, technology, regulation and the industry itself.

He has seen approaches to safety and compliance change dramatically over the years. While he recognises the benefits of many of those changes, he also believes that the practical realities of maintenance work needs to remain part of the conversation.

Through all those changes, however, his own principles have remained remarkably consistent.

“Honesty is the best policy. Sometimes it bites back though,” he says wryly, acknowledging that knowing how and when to deliver the truth can be just as important.

And perhaps most importantly, Yuri believes the people doing the work remain at the heart of any successful aviation business.

“The foundation of any business is the people working on the floor. They are the ones generating revenue. The job of everyone else is providing them a chance to do their job efficiently, not making it harder.”

For Yuri, that means more than simply doing the job to a high standard. It means passing on the knowledge and experience gained over decades, and helping the next generation of engineers take the same pride in their work.