NAL move for 70-seater aircraft

Thiruvananthapuram: In a bid to cash in on the emerging demand for regional transport aircraft, the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bangalore, has put forth a proposal for rolling out a 70-seater aircraft.
"In the next 20 years, India is going to need 400 small aircraft of the ATR 42/72 type," Dr Kota Harinarayana, Dr Raja Ramanna Fellow with NAL and former director and chief designer of the LCA project, said on the sidelines of "Sarod-2007," the third symposium on Applied Aerodynamics and Design of Aerospace Vehicles here.
The proposal for the turbo-prop-powered aircraft is expected to be included in the 11th Five-Year Plan. The aircraft will have the potential to increase seating up to 90 or reduce it to 50 according to the need, he said.
NAL, a CSIR laboratory in Bangalore, had built the 14-seater Saras aircraft. Ability to take off and land on short, unsophisticated airfields, all-weather operability, reduced emissions and noise and enhanced safety should define the short-haul transport aircraft in the coming years, he said.
23/11/07 Tiki Rajwi/Newindpress

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Categories: New Nov 2007, Regional Airlines Nov 2007