Made in India air taxi may take wing by 2025

Mumbai: A small, relatively unknown company in Navi Mumbai may soon give an Indian response to Uber’s aerial ride-sharing service, Uber Elevate.

Under its flying taxi project, Uber may well have tied up with five global aerospace giants, Embraer, Pipistrel Aircraft, Karem, Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Science and Bell to produce the flying taxi before the launch scheduled in 2023, but here a small company from Navi Mumbai. But Navi Mumbai's VTOL Aviation Pvt. Ltd., in collaboration with technocrats at Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, is working quietly to develop air taxis that may be a game-changer for India in the global aviation market.

The company, started by logistics entrepreneur Kalyan Chowdhury, in his mid-40s, is indigenously developing battery-operated air taxis that may be commercialised and deployed into service by 2025.

The plan is to develop two- and four-seater, battery-operated small planes that can take off and land anywhere. These will have both civilian and defence applications, and can be operated by pilots or be fully-automatic unmanned aerial vehicles to ferry passengers and cargo.

The air taxis, based on vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) technology are being developed in stages at IIT Kanpur. Drone testing, the first stage, with a payload capacity of up to 25 kg has been carried out successfully by the IIT Kanpur team. Development of autopilot by a team of experts is under way in Hyderabad.

VTOL Aviation plans to invest ₹200 crore (collected from internal sources and bank loans) in the initial phase with manufacturing facility at Navi Mumbai. A company official said ₹15 crore has already been invested.

The new advanced products will be the first ever Indian products in the Indian aviation sector, people associated with the project said. “We are building the air taxi in three configurations. They will be fully electric and have hybrid propulsion systems. This technology enables aircraft to take off and land almost anywhere: land, water, snow, helipads and rooftops,” said Professor Ajoy Kumar Ghosh, Head of Aerospace Engineering and Flight Lab, IIT Kanpur, who is heading the project.

“We are convinced that the products can be delivered and are making sincere efforts towards it. Initially, 30 IIT students are working on this project and as it progresses, more will join,” Professor Ghosh said.

He said a drone with payload capacity of up to 100 kg can be possible by 2020 while the air taxi will be a reality by 2025 because it would take two years for testing and certification, without which it cannot be airborne.
28/11/18 Lalatendu Mishra/The Hindu

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‘CSIR searching for commercial partner to run flights on biofuel’

Visakhapatnam: The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the largest research and scientific body in the country, is scouting for a commercial partner to run commercial and defence aircraft on biofuel, its Director-General Shekhar Mande has said.
The autonomous body which was credited with the success in powering the first flight with the indigenously produced aviation biofuel on patented technology of CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun from the capital of Uttarakhand to New Delhi in a SpiceJet aircraft last month.
“The new eco-friendly technology will be a game-changer as it is greenhouse and carbon neutral,” Mr. Shekhar Mande told The Hindu on the sideline of his maiden visit to the city to inspect the facilities of National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) on Sunday.
The CSIR, he said, was committed to fuel security which could help the country save on foreign exchange by reducing the import bill to almost zero in a few years, adding that the Union Ministry of Agriculture was collaborating for the biofuel project.
“Biofuel can be produced not only from Jatoba. The success of first biofuel-propelled flight in the country has brought laurels to the CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories. The test flight was built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited with the NAL as the technology partner,” Mr. Shekhar Mande said.
26/11/18 Santosh Patnaik/The Hindu

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AAI acquires eight mobile ATC towers for small airports

New Delhi: Jharkhand’s steel city Bokaro has become the first airport to get a mobile air traffic control (ATC) tower at its airport. The state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) has acquired eight trailer-mounted towers at a cost of Rs 64.6 crore from a Slovak company for being used at small airports for regional connectivity scheme (RCS) flights.
“With the ude desh ke aag nagrik (UDAN or the subsidised regional flying scheme where fares are capped at Rs 2,500 per hour of flying) we will see a number of small airports getting one or two flights a day. In the past also we had used mobile ATC towers but now we are doing it in a systematic manner given the demand for RCS flights. It is better to use these mobile towers at small airports,” said AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra.
The mobile towers have been purchased from MSM Martin Company Slovakia, Slovak Republic. The first eight will be used at regional airports at Bilaspur, Ambikapur, Jagdalpur, Jeypore, Utkela, Vellore, Bokaro and Mithapur (Gujarat).
A senior AAI official said: “These mobile ATC towers have been developed keeping in mind Indian ATC requirements. Technically, these mobile towers are top class and allow operations in any airport in India, enabling shipment by road on own trailer and fast deployment and setting up for operation. Mobile tower provides latest technologies including communication, navigation and surveillance and automated weather observation system equipment used for ATC.”
These towers have a lifting system for elevation of tower cabin up to 8 metre from cabin rooftop. It is configured to operate with two to four operators without being removed from the trailer. “The AC cabin is made of aluminum and has windows with 360 degree vision, anti-reflective, with fittings for anti-fogging and de-icing, blast proof double glass windows,” the official said.
23/11/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Flyers from Varanasi Airport to be among first who can board flights via facial recognition technology!

Air passengers from Varanasi airport will be among the first who can board flights via a facial recognition system, according to officials quoted in an HT report. The interesting fact is that Varanasi is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency. Under Digi Yatra, which is a Civil Aviation Ministry initiative launched to promote paperless, hassle-free and speedy airport entry, a facial recognition system will be introduced at four government-run airports. The aim of the ministry is to reduce the waiting time of passengers by implementing this system. It is also being expected by the ministry that the move will lead to a reduction in overall costs and ultimately in air fares.
Under the Digi Yatra initiative, a passenger will first have to get a unique ID by registering on the Digi Yatra portal using an approved ID proof document such as Aadhaar, PAN or driving licence. Once this step is completed, the passenger will have to go through a one-time facial verification at an e-gate at the airport’s departure terminal. Following this, the details will be stored on a centralized registration system and thereafter, the passenger’s face will act as the boarding pass. Then, the passenger after dropping off baggage, if any, can directly proceed for security check.
The four government-run airports for which the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has issued requests for proposal (RFP) are Varanasi, Pune, Kolkata and Vijayawada. AAI is inviting companies to work out the logistics as well as implement the system. One of the officials said that the deadline for the roll-out has been set for 30 April 2019. He further added that private airports in Hyderabad and Bengaluru may roll out the system by January next year. The report said that at the time of booking tickets, a passenger will have to share his or her Digi Yatra ID. While, in case of multiple bookings, all IDs will have to be shared separately.
22/11/19 Devanjana Nag/Financial Express

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Govt to place kiosks at airport to assist emigrants

Kochi: Special kiosks will be set up at the departure points at all international airports in the country to assist emigrants who want to clear their last-minute problems including about their employers abroad before boarding the flight, a top MEA official said here Wednesday.

As a first step such kiosks--a last chance for the emigrants to clear doubts their employers and matters including their contract--would be first opened at Mumbai and New Delhi international airports, Dnyaneshwar M Mulay, Secretary, Consular, Passport and Visa (CPV division), in the External Affairs Ministry, told reporters here.

"We have plans in the near future to open kiosks at international airports for providing guidance and consultations to the potential emigrants," he said. "If they have any last minute problems, last minute advise that they wanted to seek that will also be available to them right before their departure at the departure point," Mulay added.

He said sometimes it was seen that emigrants at a confused state before boarding their flight. The kiosks to be opened at the international airports would be a kind of guidance, resource and assistance centre, he added. The emigrants will get guidance from the kiosks on any doubts they might have, including about their employer and the validity of their contract, he said.
21/11/18 Devdiscourse

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Now, TaxiBots at Delhi airport reduce noise, air pollution, and help save precious aviation fuel

Every action counts when it comes to caring for the environment and that is what the aviation industry in India, which is the third largest domestic civil aviation market in the world, is doing. It is taking small but significant steps to help reduce air and noise pollution.

In October, the Israel Aerospace Industries-designed and TLD, France-manufactured TaxiBots (taxiing robots) were introduced at Delhi airport. The two robots will help airlines push their aircraft to a point short of the runway where they can start their engines for take-off.

Without the robots, the aircraft has to be tugged by a ground vehicle to the Tug Detach Point (TDP), which is normally reached within 1.5 to 2 minutes.

Following this, the aircraft has to switch on its engines and taxi to the runway. The engine having to start early for a flight means that the aircraft uses expensive aviation turbine fuel (ATF), leading to both noise and air pollution as carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere.

Delaying the switch-on
KSU Aviation Private Ltd, the company that has introduced TaxiBots at Delhi airport, estimates that a TaxiBot helps delay the switching on of an aircraft engine by 10 to 12 minutes.

“With TaxiBot, an aircraft can start engines close to the main runway. The engines will be turned on shortly before take-off to enable a pilot to do warm-up and checks,” says Ashwani Khanna, Consultant to the project.

A TaxiBot is essentially a semi-robotic tow truck or what Khanna calls an alternate aircraft taxiing device. Khanna further says, “TaxiBot is the only solution which is certified in the world,” adding that India is the only country in the world where this is being used commercially.
21/11/18 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line

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Airports Authority of India in pact with US agency to prepare modernisation roadmap

Mumbai: State-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) has inked an agreement with the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to develop a roadmap for modernisation of its air traffic services.
Air traffic services (ATS) comprises air traffic management (ATM) and communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS).
The pact was signed on November 16, an official release said Monday.
The collaboration is aimed at developing a CNS/ATM roadmap for the AAI for modernisation of the national airspace system (NAS), the release said.
Under the pact, US aircraft manufacturer Boeing will provide technical assistance which will create a roadmap to enhance communications, expand existing systems and airspace capacity, and invest in CNS/ATM facilities, it added.
19/11/18 PTI/Economic Times

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India revives its dream of manufacturing passenger aircraft

It was March 6, 2009. A 14-seater prototype aircraft called Saras Prototype 2 crashed during a trial flight in the outskirts of Bengaluru, killing all three crew members — two pilots of the Indian Air Force and a flight engineer.
During the investigation, the cockpit voice recorder disclosed the commander calling out, “aircraft has departed”, just 10 seconds before the crash, indicating that the plane had gone out of control as soon as it took off.
The 75-page investigation report pinpointed human errors, but did not spare the manufacturer of the plane, Bengaluru-based National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), for devising engine relight procedures — a midair test that involves switching off an engine before switching it on again — without consulting the propeller manufacturer MT-Propeller of Germany.
The plane had lost altitude and crashed, but the tragedy had a direct fallout: India’s dream project of manufacturing a small civilian plane, the Saras — the Sanskrit word for crane — was stuck in limbo.
By 2016, NAL, the agency that comes under the administrative control of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), announced that its Rs 300 crore fund for the project had dried up, forcing it to suspend Saras for the time being.
It was a project that began in 1991. In fact, there was another prototype — the Saras PT, which flew successfully many times since 2004. It has been modified as the 14-seater Saras PT1N and flown again earlier this year, for a surprise trial.
Something much bigger than Saras is in the offing now. Nine years after the PT-2 crash, the Centre is thinking of indigenously manufacturing aeroplanes for civilian use.
Earlier this week, a 21-member jumbo expert committee, headed by the civil aviation secretary, was set up to look into the various aspects of manufacturing planes and helicopters in India, apart from finding ways to upscale and diversify production of aero-components.
Significantly, this is the second panel being set up in the last two and a half months; the first was headed by the ministry’s economic adviser, Vandana Aggarwal, with a mandate to give a roadmap for creating a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to develop what it calls regional transport aircraft, or RTA.
The need for such a segment has been increasingly felt after the government rolled out its UDAN scheme for regional connectivity a couple of years ago.
18/11/18 Shantanu Nandan Sharma/Economic Times

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New Air Traffic Control unit to cut departure delays at Chennai airport

Chennai: Departure delays at Chennai airport will come down considerably during peak hours as the Airports Authority of India has set up a new air traffic control unit to clear pushback and take-off of planes on a separate VHF channel. Earlier, the controller who managed taxiing and parking of planes also gave these clearances which used to cause delays.

Having different units to handle take-off and surface movement of planes is an international practice in busy airports based on ICAO regulations.

A senior AAI official said a separate unit was started at the ATC tower to avoid any congestion or confusion when instructions for pushback and take-off of planes are given.
“Earlier, we had controllers who handled surface movement (people who managed or guided planes that were taxiing) giving take-off clearance too. There used to be congestion on the radio channels when instructions were passed on. There were instances when planes were told to push back and then told to be on standby for clearance for further movement or take-off. Now, there is a separate radio channel for these instructions so that there will not be any delay or confusion,” said an official.

The new Clearance Delivery Unit (CLD) is managed by a dedicated air traffic controller at the ATC tower.

The unit issues the ATC clearance and departure instructions on VHF to departing aircraft well before commencing pushback. It also issues clearances to suitably equipped departing aircraft through data link.
The move would not only bring down delays but also cut down on the possibility of runway incursion of planes waiting for take-off instructions.
10/11/18 Times of India

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Biometrics: Transforming air travel

Air travel in India has seen a massive growth over the last few years with India expected to become the world’s third largest aviation market by the year 2026. The Government had announced that India had become the world’s third largest domestic civil aviation market, with passenger traffic of over 100 million during 2016-17.

With such increase in passenger numbers in the recent years, automation will be key to meet this growth. And airports and airlines have turned to technologies like biometrics to better manage the flow of passenger through the airport.

Using biometrics allow passengers to be quickly identified, ensuring a quick check in through the airport. According to SITA’s Air Transport IT Insights, over the next three years, 77 per cent of airports and 71 per cent airlines are planning major programmes or research and development (R&D) in biometric ID management.

People today have welcomed this new advancement in technology with open arms as more than a third of passengers were reported to use automated ID control or biometrics on their last flight and majority of them would definitely use biometrics on their next flight.

The emergence of single biometric token, which allows passengers to be identified by their biometrics without showing documents such as a passport or boarding pass, is probably the most exciting development for flyers hoping to fast track through the airport. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has also discovered that every four out of five travelers are keen to use a “digital passport” on their smartphones for as many travel activities as possible.
10/11/18  Maneesh Jaikrishna/Pioneer

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Another airport plan in Kerala gathers steam

Thiruvananthapuram: After Kannur International Airport took wings, the government has fast-tracked the proposed airstrip at Periye in Kasaragod that is expected to become a feeder unit for Kannur, Kozhikode, Mangaluru and Bengaluru airports.

With the Centre also asking the state government about the viability of the airstrip meant for air taxis that can operate to all the four airports, the government has completed the survey and is moving at a fast pace to acquire the 80 acres required for the project. The government already owns 23 acres, and the 20 occupants of the remaining 57 acres of private land have expressed their willingness to part with their land for the project. The project dates back to almost two decades, when E K Nayanar was chief minister.

"We have completed the land survey and the report has been submitted to the government on October 23. The social impact survey has also been completed. The government has also spoken to the 20 families who have agreed to part with the land," Kasaragod district collector D Sajith Babu said.

The government has also constituted a committee consisting of principal secretaries of finance and transport, managing director of Cochin International Airport Ltd (Cial), Kasaragod district collector and managing director of Bekal Resorts Development Corporation Ltd for the purpose.
05/11/18 KP Saikiran/Times of India

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