India’s quest to make civil aircraft begins

New Delhi: The entire brains trust of Indian aviation – scientists, developers and operators – met here on Tuesday to initiate an ambitious project to manufacture civil regional aircraft. The mission would be to make a cheap, rugged and easy to maintain 70 to 110-seater civilian aircraft that should start rolling out within a decade.
The programme will be the third-prong of India’s quest to become self-sufficient in making fixed wing aircraft. The other two programmes relate to the next generation fighter aircraft and military transport plane for which India has tied up with Russia. Alexsei Fedorov, chief of United Aircraft Corporation, the umbrella company of Russia’s aviation industry, is arriving here towards the end of this month to finalise plans in this regard.
“We are shortly going to send a spacecraft to the Moon and we are still importing civil aircraft. India has all the capabilities and we must make them a reality,” said Defence Minister A. K. Antony who chaired the meeting.
As The Hindu reported on Monday, the Government is yet to decide on aspects such as work share, funding, and whether the aircraft will have a turbo-prop or turbo jet engine. “It is too early for these details. The team entrusted with the task will soon come back with a detailed project report,” said sources.
The time from development to certification is estimated at six years. The plane should roll off four to six years after the certification. In case the project is successful India will join a select group of companies manufacturing 70 to 110-seater jets with a range of 3,000 km.
24/09/08 Sandeep Dikshit/The Hindu

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Sep 2008, New Sep 2008