Moscow Aircraft Group Spreading Its Wings : Russia: The maker of MiG fighters is diversifying its output to include sporting planes and consumer goods such as washing machines.

The Moscow Aircraft Production Organization, maker of generations of the Warsaw Pact’s feared MiG fighters, is battling for new markets with products as diverse as miniature sporting planes and folding beds.

Its once-top-secret plant, built on a sprawling site in the heart of the city, is still building 18 MiG-29s front-line planes for Malaysia under a $600-million deal, but now it makes other products too.

“Just over half our output is military now,” technical director Ivan Butko told reporters on a rare visit to the factory. “Three years ago, it was 80%.”

In a chilly, cavernous workshop in the middle of the plant, partially built MiG jets with their characteristic twin tail planes stood in long rows.

Craftsmen on gantries leaned over the planes, welding and adjusting components.

But between the MiG skeletons stood several dozen less lethal aircraft, for which the plant has high hopes.

Powered by an Austrian Rotax engine running on ordinary petrol, the ultralight biplane Aviatika MAI-890U can fly up to 185 m.p.h.

The MiG-29’s top speed is 1,500 m.p.h.

On MAPO’s airfield, which used to be Moscow’s airport, test pilots put the Aviatika through its paces for watching defense attaches and journalists.

Slovak Defense Attache Ondrej Kubizniak donned a flying helmet and climbed beside the pilot in the tiny cockpit of the two-seater version for a spin around the airfield.

“The plane is small and light and intended mainly for sport. But for the aviator, the impression is wonderful,” Kubizniak told the news conference later.

Another pilot took off in the even more agile single-seater and, in a move that drew applause, switched the engine off, turned full circle and glided down to a perfect landing.

The Aviatika was introduced about 18 months ago and MAPO officials say there has been keen interest abroad.

MAPO’s company museum charts its almost-90-year history of producing civil and military aircraft.

In the past, it was so secret that, like other military plants, it was popularly known as a “post box.” It had only a post office box number, no address; it appeared on no maps.

In the last three decades, MAPO, which still employs nearly 20,000, has supplied some 3,000 MiGs to 40 countries.

However, the end of the Cold War forced it to make radical changes. It has had no new MiG-29 orders from Moscow since 1991, although it is still busy servicing the fleet.

“Despite the fact we have had no state orders since 1991, the economic situation of the plant is stable,” Butko said.

In the last three years, it has exported the planes to Hungary, Slovakia and Romania, and the Malaysia deal was reached.

The defense and air attaches were invited to discuss ways to improve servicing, Butko said.

State-owned MAPO is the only Russian company to receive a license to sell its military output abroad. Previously, only the state arms company Rosvooruzheniye could trade abroad.

MAPO’s main diversification plans involve making meat-processing and bakery equipment. Its other products include washing machines and greenhouses.

But military production continues. Among the plant’s current projects is developing a MiG AT trainer, designed to prepare pilots to fly the MiG-29. It is being built with two French companies.