Aero India 2011 News

Marketing blitzkrieg, aerial theatrics mark Aero India Show 2011

admin — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 16:51:02 +0000

Bangalore: It was a blend of marketing blitzkrieg and aerial theatrics that capped the five-day Aero India show.
The concluding day here was marked by flagging off of India’s old refurbished warhorse, Pushpak on a 11,000 km expedition.
The huge civilian turnout today was also greeted to some stunning mid-air manoeuvres by both Indian and foreign military aircraft.
Aerial displays by homegrown Tejas , Indian aerobatic team, Suryakiran, the Indian helicopter team, Sarang enthralled several. The Czech based team today left several gaping as the Flying Bulls presented their complex manoeuvres.
Military state-of-the aircraft from Sweden, France, US Europe, Russia also displayed their prowess mid-air.
The aeroshow received both national and international attention, with the participation of nearly 75,000 business visitors this year as against 50,000 in the previous event, according to CII officials.
In all nearly two lakh visitors it to the aero show which witnessed some fierce competition with major international aerospace players bidding for the USD 10 billion medium multi-role combat aircraft contract in India, which is expected to be finalised next year.
Over 600 exhibitors from across the country and the world showcased their components and technology at the event.
The highlight of the event was handing over of ‘Cheetah’ to Namibia and signing of Joint Venture between L and T and Cassidian.
13/02/11 PTI/Economic Times

Mahindra Aero looks for strategic investor

admin — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 16:49:35 +0000

Chennai: The Mahindra group is looking to scale up its aerospace business to capture a slice of the $12-billion offset business in the Indian defence market. Group company Mahindra Aerospace Private Ltd (MAPL) is looking to rope in a strategic investor (it already has Kotak PE) and is pumping in Rs 284 crore in a new facility in Karnataka for components, assemblies and aerostructures both for its own and other large aircraft. The idea, said a top company official, is to create competence for components on one hand and build compact, rugged, affordable aircraft – ‘Scorpio of the aero industry’ – on the other.
“We are talking to potential strategic investors including OEMs and tier I suppliers. We are looking at a relationship that will help us access both customers and technology – not just for the offsets business but for aerospace competency beyond that too …,” Hemant Luthra, president, Systech, M&M, told TOI. A tie-up is a “distinct possibility” in the quarter. The top tier 1 suppliers globally are players like Alenia, part of the Italian group Finmeccanica, Premium Aerotec, Aernnova Spain, Aerolia, and Spirit Aerosystems but Luthra refused to speculate on the name of the potential strategic partner. The $7.1 billion Mahindra group is building a 20-acre component plant at Narsapura in Karnataka.
The company has acquired equipment from the Boeing Aerostructures plant in Melbourne Australia for the Narsapura plant.
13/02/11 Nandini Sen Gupta/Times of India

India’s Super-Rich Targeted by Private Jet Makers

admin — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 16:47:53 +0000

Executive jet makers seeking to recover from a slump in demand caused by the global financial crisis are now targeting the growing list of billionaires in India.
Prominent among exhibitors at the ongoing Aero India 2011 air show in Bangalore were manufacturers such as US-based Gulfstream and Brazil’s Embraer — both hoping to seduce corporate high-flyers with their luxury private planes. The global private jet market had a hard landing in 2008-09, with jet prices plunging by up to 30 percent and actual flying time falling by an estimated 40 percent.
But India’s fast-growing economy minted 17 new billionaires in 2010, driving the total to a record 69, according to Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s wealthiest individuals.
Jose Eduardo Costas, vice president of Asia sales for Embraer, said the Brazilian firm had a host of orders lined up.
Gulfstream said there were 17 of its aircraft in India by the end of last year, up from just five in 2001, adding that 12 of them were large-cabin models including the G550, which has a range of 12,000 kilometres (7,500 miles).
13/02/11 Kathy Jones/Medindia.net

200 IAF pilots are alive, thanks to ejection seats!

admin — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 09:48:50 +0000

Bangalore: Bismi Devassy survived an air crash because she had the alacrity to press the ejection button on her Kiran trainer aircraft.
Two hundred Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots like her are alive today because they knew their life depended on that one button. Pressing it would throw the ejection seat off the crashing aircraft, unfurl a parachute and land the pilot to relative safety.
The lone Martin Baker ejection seat, displayed at a remote corner of an Aero-India pavilion, conspicuously reflected that legacy of pilot rescue.
As pilot after pilot, who had survived air crashes, visited the stall and expressed gratitude, the seat took on a spiritual hue. After all, the Martin Baker seats are fitted onto almost every non-Russian fighter aircraft in the country. The eventual Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) will also feature these seats.
Devassy and all the Indian ejectees are now part of an exclusive Martin Baker “Ejection Tie Club.” The primary objective of the Club is to provide a distinctive tie to be worn with civilian clothing and thus to provide a visible sign of the members’ common bond.
12/02/11 Rasheed Kappan/Deccan Herald

Show draws huge crowd

admin — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 09:46:46 +0000

Bangalore: The Indian Air Force Station at Yelahanka was abuzz with people from all over the world on Saturday. The crowd was not limited only inside the station but on the road to the Bangalore International Airport as well. Hordes of travellers waited to get a glimpse of the marvellous display in the skies.
Speaking about his experience, Abhishek Chatterjee a native of Lucknow said: “It’s a onceinalifetime opportunity to watch the best of our aircraft and those from other countries like the US, Europe and Russia performing at a show. It was worth travelling down from my hometown,”.
A group of Americans who called themselves the “Flying Freaks” said: “We have watched many such shows back home and in other countries. The Aero India is certainly one of the best. Only that we couldn’t get to see the F22 performing here which is very disappointing,” said Bryan Philip, a member of the unofficial team.
Though visitors had to take a long walk to reach the entrance and had to go through security checks they did not complain about anything. “From the P8 parking, I had to walk more than two kilometres but as the show began my weariness was gone,” smiled Swapna Padgaonkar, a techie.
13/02/11 Chokkapan S/ExpressBuzz

Shahid Kapoor flies F-16 at Aero India show

admin — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 09:42:32 +0000

Bangalore: Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor, who is playing the role of a combat aircraft pilot in his upcoming film ‘Mausam’, was thrilled to fly in a Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter aircraft at the Aero India show here.
“I am very keen to get into F-16 as a co-pilot. I thank IAF and also Lockheed Martin for giving me this opportunity,” Shahid told reporters ahead of his flying venture today.
The 29-year-old actor had to undergo one month’s rigorous training and pass required tests before flying the combat aircraft.
12/02/11 Shahid Kapoor/Indian Express

DRDO’s high dreams dashed

admin — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 09:40:55 +0000

DRDO’s showpiece at Aero India – Aerostat, a surveillance balloon – was not allowed to ‘fly high’ at the show as the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) had denied it permission.
Other than India, only two other countries – the US and Israel – have it. The Aerostat rose to a height of 40 metres only twice at the show (only for half an hour) – once before the defence minister’s visit and once before the mediapersons.
An official from the aerial delivery research & development establishment of Defence Research and Development Organisation said, “We have kept it (the Aerostat) at winch level (ground level) since beginning of the show. We always wanted to keep it flying. But denial of permission by ATC was a dampener.”
The ATC, however, said it had denied permission as a safety measure as the Aerostat would hamper the movement of flights.
An Aerostat can remain stationary in the air and it is tethered to the ground through an electro-optic wire. An official said while a micro UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) does surveillance work, it can’t fly for a longer time. However, an Aerostat can fly continuously for seven days.
13/02/11 Sameer Ranjan Bakshi/Bangalore Mirror

Aero India’s biggest aircraft put on a diet

admin — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 09:39:26 +0000

Personnel working at the Aero India show say that the Omega tanker is the biggest aircraft they have seen at this year’s event. One would assume that the fuel tank of the aircraft would also be big and full. The tank is indeed big, they say, but never full.
While all the other aircraft top up before it is time to put up a show in the skies, the Omega lives on a lean diet when it comes to fuel. The reason is the length of the runway (3 km) at the Yelahanka air base. It is not long enough for the plane to take off on a full tank. A full tank adds considerably to the weight of the aircraft and prevents it from picking up momentum fast enough to take off from short runways. On a full tank, Omega needs a runway as long as the one at BIAL (4 km) to take off or land.
Talking about full tanks, personnel of oil companies were kept very busy by the continuous movement of aircraft at the show. Every now and then, aircraft would take off to put up a show for business visitors and spectators.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the official fuel supplier for the show, dispenses about 800 kilolitres (KL) of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) every day. The most hungry of the lot is the Hercules, a US transport aircraft, which consumes about 700 litres for each flight of six minutes. During the show, an aircraft can demonstrate in the air for a little less than seven minutes before making way for others.
13/02/11 Sameer Ranjan Bakshi/Pune Mirror

Bangalore student beats 2,400 to fly Gripen

admin — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 09:37:28 +0000

Bangalore: A 22-year-old student from Bangalore-based BMS Engineering College will today be doing one thing that most of us can’t even dream of—fly a fighter jet.
A mechanical engineering student, Shashank HR outplayed 2,400 contestants to win the Gripen Top Guns contest, which would offer him a chance to fly the Gripen fighter jet.
On Saturday, five of the 2,400 took the final test: they were made to fly the Gripen flight simulator to choose the ‘top gun’. And Shashank emerged as the winner. Shashank had the habit of flying planes on his home computer and he said that made his task easy during the simulation trials. Buoyed up with this win, he says, after his engineering course get over, he would join “an Indian public sector undertaking which is engaged in aerospace activities”.
On Sunday, Shashank will co-pilot the Gripen — one of the contenders for the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) — for an hour.
13/02/11 Hemanth CS/Daily News & Analysis

Airshow attracts 50,000 on day four

admin — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 09:35:07 +0000

Bangalore: Roaring metal birds and theirntricate manoeuvres were the cynosure of all eyes at the Aero India show here which was opened for public viewing today.
The crowd was eager to have a first hand experience of flying displays from top-notch aerobatic teams like ‘Surya Kiran’, ‘Sarang’ and ‘Red Bull’.
The breathtaking flying sorties drew thunderous applause from the gathering.
According to preliminary estimates from authorities, the fourth-day of the Aero Show today attracted at least 50,000 people and the numbers could swell on the last day tomorrow.
The visitors were vying for a vantage spot to witness the take-offs and pilots manoeuvring the jets.
The crowd was treated to a dazzling display from medium multi-role combat aircraft team of Lockheed Martin’s F-16, Boeings Super Hornet F/A-18, Gripen of Saab and Rafale of French Dassault and Thphoon of Eurofighter.
12/02/11 PTI/Daily News & Analysis