Perm Engines Research & Production Complex (i.e. UEC-Aviadvigatel and UEC-Perm Engines that are part of the Rostec's United Engine Corporation) has marked the centenary of the birth of Dmitry Dicheskul, the legendary Chief Engineer of Perm Engine Plant.
Members of the Dicheskul dynasty, veterans of the enterprise, and current colleagues gathered for the celebration at the Perm Engines’ corporate museum. Participants of the meeting were talking about this remarkable man, professional and leader. “An engineer at heart”, “a strategic thinker”, “a patriot” – those words seemed to describe Dmitry Dicheskul, the Chief Engineer of Perm Engine Plant, on the occasion of his 100th Anniversary.
“Dmitry Dicheskul had a unique biography. Upon graduation of Moscow Aviation Institute at the age of 24, he joined the company as a Test Shop Process Engineer, and a year later he became the head of this largest shop. At 31 he became a head of the entire company’s procurement department, then – a chief inspector. At 38, Dicheskul, well-educated, full of energy, and knowing all about the plant, was appointed as Chief Engineer of the major plant, employing nearly 40,000 people”, says Rashid Dzunza, a Chairman of Perm Engine Veterans non-commercial association and citizen of honour.
He worked as the Chief Engineer, and actually as the technical director of the company, for 17 years. This period is called “Dicheskul Era”: CNC machines and an automated production management system were introduced, and new technologies were mastered, including titanium casting, near-net forging, cold rolling of blades, electron beam welding, and so on. The plant's production area doubled, increasing to 150,000 square meters. New production facilities were established, including gearbox, tooling, and rocket manufacturing, and mass production of engines for passenger aircraft was launched, such as IL-18, Tu-124, Tu-134, and MiG-31 fighter. Under his leadership, engines were produced as follows: Ash-82V, D-25V, TV2-117 and main reduction gearboxes for Mi-4, Mi-6, Mi-8, Mi-10, and Mi-26; production of rocket engines has been established.
“I have never known a more educated, qualified, and effective specialist than Dmitry Dicheskul. During the years of his appointment as a Chief Engineer, all three of the plant's production facilities were developing new, highly complex products. And Dmitry Dicheskul was at the center of all production processes. Without him, neither D-30F6 nor the first rocket engines would have been possible. Pavel Solovyov, Chief Designer of the Design Bureau, had a lot of respect for Dmitry Dicheskul and considered him the only strategically minded chief engineer in the industry,” emphasized Aleksandr Inozemtsev, Managing Director and General Designer of JSC “UEC-Aviadvigatel”, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation.
In 1971 Dmitry Dicheskul became a Hero of Socialist Labor – the first time in the USSR that a company’s chief engineer was awarded such a high title.
In 1981, he was awarded the USSR State Prize for ensuring the serial production of MiG-31 D-30F6.
In 1982, Dicheskul was appointed as a head of the 13th Main Directorate of the USSR Ministry of Aviation Industry, which supervised the largest engine manufacturing plants in Kazan, Rybinsk, Zaporozhye, Kuibyshev, and Perm. This coincided with PS-90A engine development in Perm. Dicheskul supported the manufacturing upgrade and regularly visited the plant to assess the progress at site. In the 1990s, Dicheskul returned to Perm. He was a director of the foreign economic representation and chaired the expert council of JSC Perm Engines.
“Today was a very official, but at the same time warm evening. We, all the family members, felt absolute pride in our father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. We are grateful to the Perm Engines administration for remembering and respecting his achievements. The base incorporated by Dmitry Dicheskul and his team at one time ensured the development of Perm engine manufacturing and will certainly become the basis for the achievement of new heights,” says with a confidence the son of the legendary chief engineer, director of the Perm Aviation Technical School Aleksandr Dicheskul.
The celebration included the premiere of the historical film Engineer at Heart about Dmitry Dicheskul, as well as the Factory Worker. Engineer. Strategist exhibition, which was opened in the corporate museum to the date of the big anniversary.
Additional Information
For his outstanding work achievements, D. Dicheskul was awarded state awards:
- two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor (1966, 1976);
- the title of “Hero of Socialist Labor” with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star of the Hero (1971);
- the USSR State Prize (1981, 1985);
- the Order of the October Revolution (1884);
- the Prize of the Council of Ministers of the USSR (1985);
- the title of “Honored Machine Builder of the RSFSR” (1986) and “Honored Engine Builder” (1997).
