Sunday, December 11, 2005
India to make 50-seater passenger aircraft
Press Trust of India
Mumbai, December 11, 2005
India has begun work on developing a 50-seater passenger aircraft, capable of landing and taking off from short semi-prepared runways.
National Aerospace Laboratories, a Bangalore-based CSIR laboratory, which developed the 14-seater Saras aircraft, has been mandated to build the new indigenous passenger airplane.
"The 50-seater aircraft would be powered by a turbo-prop engine. Our team has almost completed the design studies and soon it will be submitted to government for approval and sooner allocation of funds," NAL adviser Dr Kota Harinarayana said in Mumbai.
Harinarayana, who has been tasked with the new civilian airplane project, had led India's most ambitious national project, Light Combat Aircraft (Tejas), starting from the design studies to the successful flights of the first two technology demonstrators.
"We need more turbo-pros so that we can connect a lot of unconnected airports across the country, which are having semi-prepared or short runways" he said.
According to Tulouse-based ATR, which holds 75 per cent market share in the 50 to 70-seater regional turbo-prop aircraft section in India, the country is a lucrative market for 20 to 90-seater aircraft because of expanding coverage on the domestic feeder routes and the growing clout of low-cost carriers and also due to cruising fuel prices.
After the completion of development, test flights and required number of testing hours, NAL is planning to hand over the series production of the aircraft either to the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) or some private industries.
NAL is likely to select Canadian aero-engine major Pratt and Whitney to supply engines to power the aircraft, but Harinarayana said nothing has been finalised.
Pratt and Whitney engine powers the NAL-developed 14-seater Saras aircraft, which had its maiden flight August last year.
Referring to Saras, Harinarayana said NAL was developing the second prototype of the aircraft, which will be taken in to the skies by the middle of next year.
Asked about Tejas, Harinarayana, who was considered the father of the aircraft project, said the LCAs would be the part of Indian Air Force's main performance fighter fleet starting from next decade.
"I am sure, LCAs will be the part of IAF's main performance fighter fleet starting from next decade... And I am eagerly waiting for the role out of LCA with an indigenous power plant," he said.
Started in 1983, LCA is a tail-less delta-winged, fly-by-wire supersonic fighter, aimed to replace the IAF's ageing MiG series of aircraft. US engine maker, General Electric's GE 404 engines power the operational prototypes of the aircraft which is undergoing test trials in Bangalore.
© HT Media Ltd. 2005.