Made in India, fly in India: Travel anywhere in planes

New Delhi, Nov 17: There is a good news for Indians who like to enjoy travelling by flights anywhere in the country, especially in aircrafts made in India and not in any foreign countries. The news of interlinking tier 2 and tier 3 cities with metro cities through air might bring some consolation for the Indian aviation sector which has recently been hit by economical turbulence.

AR Upadhya, the former NAL director and member of the NCAD high powered committee, while speaking about the country's foray into the next-generation civil transport aircraft, informed that market potential is high for a 70- to 90-seater transport aircraft.

Speaking about the future of Indian aviation sector, Mr Upadhya also claimed that following the steady growth of the sector, there would be a demand for 350 civil aircrafts in India by the end of 2030.

However, the project of making aircrafts in India would take some time as the project is still in its preliminary stage of making design of the planes. According to sources, it would take minimum four and a half years to carry out the first flight and it would attain certification in six years, and hopefully would enter series production in about eight years.

According to sources, the project of making a 90-seater twin turbofan engine-powered aircraft would cost Rs 7,555 crore (Rs 4,355 crore for design and Rs 3,200 crore for development phase).

Speaking about their dream project, Upadhya also added, "Although only 2% of the carbon dioxide emissions come from the aviation sector, we need to reduce it. For this, we must look at drag reduction, load control, aircraft recycling weight reduction, and use of alternative fuels."

OneIndia News