Saras prototype to make maiden flight this week

Bangalore: The second prototype (PT2) of India's first indigenously designed and developed civilian aircraft Saras is on the verge of making its maiden flight this week. Designed and built by the Bangalore headquartered National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), a constituent of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the eight to 14-seater Light Transport Aircraft Saras will follow in the footsteps of prototype one (PT1) which flew in May 2004.
While NAL have long completed the PT2's low speed taxi trials (where the aircraft is taxied to a speed of up to 60 knots) and high speed taxi trials (where the aircraft is pushed between 60 and 90 knots and the nose wheel just lifts off the ground), the three Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) ground runs — a statutory requirement under the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) — are yet to be completed.
During the SOP ground runs the aircraft will be checked for safety related snags while it is identically configured to the parameters (such as the weight of aircraft, centre of gravity, amount of fuel) that will be present during its first flight. While two SOP ground runs have been successfully competed, the third is due any day now.
The aircraft's maiden flight with pilots from the Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment at the controls will then follow.
18/04/07 Ravi Sharma/The Hindu

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Categories: General Aviation Apr 2007, New Apr 2007