India is making its own First Civilian Aircraft
India is developing its first civilian aircraft,
which would be a 70 to 90-seater plane catering
to the regional aviation market and a feasibility study is currently on, a top scientist.
"We are looking at creating a Regional Transport Aircraft
(RTA) which would be 70 or a 90-seater. The feasibility study is being
carried out now," M. R. Nayak, advisor and chief scientist at the state-owned National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) said. A high-powered
committee headed by former chairman of Indian Space Research
Organization (ISRO) G Madhavan Nair has already been set up to guide
the project. He said the aircraft would be developed through the public-private
partnership (PPP) mode. Besides NAL which is the nodal agency for the project, the
public sector firms participating in the project are HAL, DRDO, ISRP, BEL and ADA,
while those in the private sector included HCL, QUEST, Infosys, Mahindras, L&T and
Tata Group. Nayak was speaking at a meeting of Indo-US aviation manufacturers, where
Boeing India president Dinesh Keskar said the
growing aviation market in the country had greatly enhanced the opportunities for
businesses of both countries to collaborate in such projects.
Keskar said India would require 1,150 civilian planes, worth USD 130 billion, over
the next two decades and another USD 30 billion worth of military aircraft, missiles
and other aerospace equipment.
The Regional Transport Aircraft (RTA) is being developed to have a range of 800
kilometers, making it conducive for travel within India due to the close proximity
of Tier-I and Tier-II cities.
Reports said as many as 400 RTAs were planned to be manufactured with half of them
going to the armed forces. NAL was in discussions with global engine manufacturers
including Pratt & Whitney of Canada and General Electric of US and avionics firms
like Rockwell Collins and Diehl Aerospace
Courtesy: DNA India
