Search the Internet           Tips

NAL to roll out India's first two-seater plane

National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore, the country's premier institute for research and development in aerospace, is all set to roll out the country's first fully indigenously developed two-seater trainer aircraft, Hansa-3, in two months.

NAL received the production certificate for the Hansa-3 type aircraft from the Director General Civil Aviation in February after extensive flight tests and the introduction of night flying instruments, NAL Director Dr T S Prahlad told a group of journalists from Trivandrum, who recently visited NAL.

The civil aviation ministry has placed orders for the manufacture of three Hansa-3 planes, suitable for training purposes in flying clubs and work on the three aircraft was nearing completion at NAL, he said.

The first Hansa-3 aircraft, meant for the Trivandrum flying club, will roll-out within two months, he said.

Obtaining the certificate itself was a proud moment for NAL because it marked the culmination of almost a decade long effort to design, develop and certify country's first all composite two-seater aircraft.

Explaining the salient features of the aircraft, he said the aircraft was ideally suited for pilot training, sports, hobby flying and also it could be developed for surveillance, aerial photography, coast guard and environment monitoring roles.

It has four-hour endurance, he said adding another major advantage of the aircraft was low operational and maintenance costs, he said. NAL was formulating a marketing strategy for the aircraft, he said.

Prahlad said the aircraft would cost about Rs 4.2 to 4.5 million and NAL was capable to deliver the aircraft within four months.

NAL was also getting enquires for the aircraft from Cannada and Australia, he said adding the DGCA certificate was not enough for selling to foreign buyers.

At present the engine is imported from Austria and once the number of orders for the aircraft increase, it would be profitable to go in for indigenous production, he said adding the NAL had the necessary know-how for it.

The aircraft was tested with a specially designed lightning protection scheme at the Centre for Airborne Systems at Bangalore. With the experience in manufacturing Hansa, NAL was now focussing its attention to manufacture the most ambitious multi-role light transport 14-seater aircraft, 'Saras', he said.

'Our goal is to have the first test flight of Saras in the later part of next year and work is progressing', he said.

Memorandum of Understanding have been signed with nearly 30 small and medium sized industries to carry out machining work, he said.

Saras is also being built without any foreign collaboration except the engine which was brought from Canada. The cost of production of one Saras aircraft would be about Rs 190 million.

Prahlad said the Saras project, which has been progressing at a slow pace for the past several years due to funding difficulties, received a boost when the Technology Development Board agreed to support the project estimated to cost Rs 1.32 billion.

Tell us what you think of this report