Mahindra's civilian plane makes its maiden flight!

Mahindra Aerospace, the aircraft and aero-structures arm of the Mahindra Group has successfully flown its maiden five-seater civilian plane.

The prototype of C-NM5, jointly developed by CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL) and Mahindra Aerospace, was built over 10 months by GippsAero in their facilities near Melbourne, Australia, the company said in a statement.

...

This is the first public-private joint venture in the aircraft design in the country.

"It gives us great pride to see our first indigenous effort, the C-NM5, developed along with the CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories, complete its maiden flight... This project is part of Mahindra's goal to provide transportation and connectivity solutions to communities everywhere," said Anand Mahindra, Vice Chairman and MD, Mahindra Group.

...

The C-NM5 is a 5-seat all-metal aircraft powered by a Lycoming IO-540 engine, and features non-retractable landing gear and a spacious cabin with large access doors, it said.

"The 45-minute first flight on September 1 tested basic handling of the aircraft. Subsequent flights have evaluated aircraft stability and control in different flight regimes," the company said.

...

The developmental flight testing and evaluations are continuing, with the ultimate objective of achieving Type Certification in keeping with international regulatory standards, it said, adding the programme will be followed by global sales and marketing initiative.

...

Mahindra Aerospace had in December 2008 tied up with NAL to produce a general aviation aircraft.

The NAL had successfully developed the Hansa and Saras aircraft.