And so one piece at a time, using her own money, Karmanova is reassembling the aircraft.
"The cockpit is currently about 60 to 70% restored to its original condition, but there's still much to do," she states proudly.
Although she started her journey single-handed, she was joined after one year by aviation maintenance worker Vladimir Chebotnikov.
He helps her install heavy equipment and restore many items.
Another three people have joined the project more recently, helping locate some of the missing parts and work on restoring some of the electrical system.