Aero-India @ HAL Airport, Bangalore | Aerospace News & Projects

[jammy97]

As Bangalore leads the way in IT, fashion, BT, it is also an emerging venue for many aviation, aerospace and defense projects. With many private companies within Bangalore showing their potential to provide high quality IT solutions,composites, embedded systems, mro's, and aerospace components, Bangalore has the potential to bag a lot of projects.

Add to this, the recent GoI initiative to rope in private Indian companies for offset defence projects. This initiative makes the Aero-India show a much awaited one. The bi-annual Aero India show is here again in Feb 2009. Venue as usual will be the Yelahanka air force station. The official website is : www.aeroindia.in

This thread is to discuss about projects, news (especially Aero-India), and companies with relevance to the above. It also aims to find out whether Bangalore is (or will become) the aviation capital of the country. Please post pictures wherever possible.

[jammy97]

BANGALORE: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) are planning to jointly design and develop a 70-seater civil regional aircraft.

Its development cost could run to Rs.4,000 crore and will roll out for certification in six to seven years. The aircraft will cater to regional routes, having a range of around 600 km to 800 km.

A joint delegation from HAL and NAL will make a presentation soon on the issue to Defence Minister A.K. Antony.

HAL and the NAL are yet to decide on aspects such as work share, funding, and even whether the aircraft will have a turbo-prop or turbo jet engine.

The two organisations have estimated that over the next 20 years there will be a requirement for around 400 aircraft from both the defence services and civil airlines for regional aircraft of this size. While the Services are looking to replace Dornier, Avro and AN-32 fleets, the growing domestic aviation sector will need to acquire additional regional aircraft of this size.

HAL’s Director (Design and Development) N.C. Agarwal, who will lead the company’s team during the presentation, told The Hindu that partners from overseas and India would fund the project on a risk-share basis.

NAL initially mooted the idea of a 70-seater aircraft and had held discussions with Pratt and Whitney (Canada) and General Electric (U.S.) for an engine.

NAL Director A.R. Upadhya will head the laboratory’s delegation.

Source: The Hindu -22nd Sep 2008

We could see the extended version of the aircraft in this pic.

[phaedrus]

good to see HAL and NAL put effort to make civial aircrafts as well.

[jammy97]

Air Works, Honeywell in service centre pact

Our Bureau

Hyderabad, Oct. 15 Air Works on Wednesday announced an authorised service centre agreement with Honeywell at the India Aviation Week 2008 here.

Under the agreement, Air Works will offer maintenance, repair and service facilities for Honeywell engines TFE 731 and CFE 738 series along with Auxiliary Power Units (APUs).

In addition, Air Works will also service Honeywell’s complete range of navigation and communication equipment, Mr Fredrik Groth, its Chief Executive Officer, said in a press release.

Air Works General Aviation MRO is the largest in India with over 60 per cent market share. Starting with the maintenance and overhaul work on a few DC-3s in the early 1950s, Air Works currently does DGCA-approved maintenance on nearly 50 different aircraft types, including Gulfstream, Bombardier, Dassault, Hawker, Cessna, Beech and the respective engines, the release added.

MRO facility :

The company is already expanding its reach in providing MRO services by launching a commercial MRO facility in Hosur, near Bangalore in October.

“We are excited to announce this appointment and look forward to working with Air Works in order to bring a new dimension in customer support and value to Indian Business and General Aviation industry,” said Mr Shane Tedjarati, President, India & China, Honeywell Ltd.

Source: Hindu Business Line -16th Oct '08

[2Paise]

‘LCA here to stay, IAF to induct 140 fighters’

Bangalore, October 25 : It had been grounded even before it took flight after the Air Force questioned its fighting capabilities but the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) seems to have got a new lease of life.

Declaring that the project would not be abandoned, Defence Minister A K Antony announced on Saturday that the country would purchase a total of 140 aircraft to form seven fighter squadrons of the IAF.

The Minister, who conducted a review meeting of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bangalore, admitted that the project had been hit by a series of delays but said the aircraft would now be ready by the end of 2010 and the first of the fighters would be inducted the next year.

While the IAF has already committed to buying two squadrons of the indigenous fighter, this is the first time that the minister has gone on record to say that as many as 140 fighters will eventually be inducted into the Air Force. “After many years of waiting since 1982 (when the project was sanctioned) the LCA has at last become a reality. We will get the first operational fighter by 2011. The final aim is to acquire seven squadrons of the fighter,” Antony told reporters.

[jammy97]

Bangalore: United Technologies Corp (UTC) launched an office in Bangalore on Tuesday to broaden and deepen its local supplier base for aerospace products.

Louis Chenevert, CEO of the $55-billion company, told reporters here that the company already sources from some 14 Indian firms, and the plan was to double that number, as also increase involvement with existing partners.

UTC — makers of the Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines, Hamilton Sundstrand aerospace systems and Sikorsky helicopters — works in India with companies like HAL, L&T, Tata, HCL, TW Metals and Quest Manufacturing. It also works with Hyderabadbased Infotech, in which it has a 15% stake and which has about 1,000 employees.

Chenevert said Hamilton Sundstrand has sourced key components from India, including for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. “HAL has provided critical parts for jet engines. India has particularly good capabilities in composite parts, developing newer processes for it, development of lighter weight material, as also in precision machining and electronics,” he said. Bangalore is India’s hub for aerospace manufacturing. The presence of HAL in the city has spawned a large eco-system of component and parts manufacturers, as also aerospace-related technology companies. Chenevert noted that it’s a “long lifecycle business”, that once the company identifies a good supplier, it becomes a “30-50 year relationship”.

UTC, which also owns the Otis elevator and escalator business, and the Carrier heating and airconditioning business, sees India as a potentially big market too. The company expects to do a total business of $500 million in India this year, up from $100 million early this decade. “We expect this will go up to $1 billion in two to three years,” Chenevert said. About 30-40% of this is expected to come from aerospace related business, including opportunities in the defence space.

Otis sold its first elevator in India (in Chennai) over a century ago, in 1899.
Today, UTC’s businesses together have 102 offices, three factories and 4,000employees in India. Otis has a manufacturing facility in Bangalore that can manufacture 6,000 elevators a year.

Asked about Pratt & Whitney’s stated plans for a MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) facility in India, Chenevert said the company was still assessing the matter. The company is known to have had talks with Kingfisher Airlines on this.

Source: Times of India E-paper. Page 21
Date: 5th Nov 2008

[jammy97]

NEW DELHI: The first aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in India would come up at Hosur near Bangalore, with its promoter Air
Works receiving the approval of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Announcing that it had recently received DGCA approval, Air Works CEO Fredrik Groth said the company, which already has one hangar at Hosur airport that can house two turboprop ATR-72 size aircraft, would construct two more larger hangars by 2009.

"We have plans to pump in USD 40 million into the project", he said, adding that the funds would be put into set up the additional hangars, the aircraft painting operations as well as for future engine and components facilities.

The company, which claims to be the largest general aviation and MRO firm in India, would provide services like line and base maintenance, aircraft painting, structural repairs, cabin and avionic upgrades. It would also offer component repairs and spare parts sourcing.

"We are extremely happy on being recognized for our efforts by DGCA and are now all set to commence operations as India's first commercial MRO facility .

We now look forward to performing our services to the airlines of India, which so far have had to either build up in house maintenance capabilities or send their aircraft abroad for servicing," Groth told reporters here.

The company would start operations with the existing hangar and soon build two more "no later than 2009 end" at the Hosur airport, which has a 7,000 feet runway capable of accepting all types of commercial aircraft.

Air Works has already announced a joint venture with Air Livery Plc of the UK, as its partner on the upcoming dedicated state of the art paint hangar.

Air Works' General Aviation MRO, Groth said, was "already the largest in India with over 60 per cent market share".

Starting with the maintenance and overhaul work on a few DC-3s in the early 1950s, Air Works currently does DGCA approved maintenance on over 75 aircraft including Gulfstream, Bombardier, Dassault, Hawker, Cessna, Beech and others.

It had recently announced an authorized service centre agreement with US-based Honeywell to offer MRO services for Honeywell engines TFE 731 and CFE 738 series along with Auxiliary Power Units (APUs), along with navigation and communication equipment.

Source: Economic Times
11th Nov 2008

“At the moment, the facility has approval only for the ATR aircraft, but the next step is to expand our capabilities and approvals for the Boeing 737 and Airbus A-320 aircraft. Going forward, we plan to invest $40 million for setting up additional hangars, paint operations and future engine and component activities,” the Chief Executive Officer, Mr Fredrik Groth, told newspersons.

Source: Hindu Business Line
11th Nov 2008

[jammy97]

HAL moots aerospace unit
20 Nov 2008, 0016 hrs IST, TNN

Bangalore: Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has proposed to set up an aerospace unit near Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) with an
investment of Rs 2,095 crore. The unit is expected to house an aviation engine manufacturing plant, plus spares for fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.

Along with this proposal, 11 others were cleared on Wednesday by the State High-Level Clearance Committee headed by chief minister B S Yeddyurappa.

...

Source/Full article: Times of India

[idontspam]

The Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) played host to a code F cargo aircraft(An-124), which is the third largest in the world. It flew in from Leipzig, Germany loaded with equipment for the impending Aero India 2009 and headed back after offloading at the BIA

Read AN-124, holder of 30 world records

[kp.muthu99]

Mahindra will invest 1.5 billion rupees into aircraft component manufacturing, and another 1 billion rupees in aircraft manufacturing, Managing Director and Vice Chairman of the Mahindra group, Anand Mahindra said in Bangalore. Mahindra said the group is open to inorganic opportunities to grow its aerospace business.


http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/6094646.cms

[gentem]

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1050393

This is "Karnataka Automobile & Aerospace Industry" thread. Includes all karnataka aerospace updates including Bangalore, Kolar, Belgaum.

[sunilkumar]

The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) and the Bangalore-based Subramanya Construction and Development Company (SCDC) Monday signed a joint venture agreement to set up the world's first integrated aviation university and training campus in the Karnataka capital.

The Sydney-based CAPA, a globally recognised provider of industry research and analysis, and SCDC will invest $125 million to develop CAPA AeroPark on a 50-acre site in Bangalore by 2012.

The fully developed campus will have state-of-the-art academic facilities together with full flight simulators, a flying school, engineering workshops and laboratories, research centres, accommodation for students and faculty, recreational facilities, a hotel and convention centre.

The university would have satellite academies in Delhi and Mumbai for airline and airport management, pilots, engineers, air traffic controllers, cabin crew and regulators.

"This facility is in response to a felt need for trained aviation personnel in India given the rapid growth that is envisaged in India's aviation industry over the next few years. It further enhances the growing Australia-India trade and investment relations," Consul General of India in Sydney Amit Dasgupta told IANS.

India has been one of the fastest growing aviation markets with demand for skilled personnel expected to triple over the next decade. Even conservative projections estimate India will emerge as the third largest aviation market in the world in the next 12-15 years.

"There is an emerging global shortage of skilled human resources in the industry, which is particularly acute in rapidly emerging markets such as India and neighbouring regions. The aviation industries in India and the Gulf alone are expected to see investment in excess of $200 billion over the next decade and availability of skills is critical to support this," said CAPA Group Executive Chairman Peter Harbison.

According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the Asia Pacific region now has training capacity to meet only 35 percent of its annual requirement of almost 14,000 pilots- an annual shortfall of 9,000.

The CAPA AeroPark Masterplan has been developed after consultations with airlines, airports, governments, universities and aviation training providers from around the world, and on-the-ground study of currently available training infrastructure in India.

SCDC Group Chairman K.N.Balasubramanyam said: "This facility will be vital for developing a professional, sustainable and safe aviation industry and will help position India as a globally competitive aviation and aerospace hub." This is SCDC's first foray into the education sector.

Bangalore has been chosen as the location for the campus because it is the country's aerospace hub, home to Hindustan Aeronautics, the nation's leading aerospace company, and the Airbus Engineering and Design Centre, Boeing's Research and Technology Centre, besides several national research institutes and companies involved in aviation technology, design, maintenance and manufacturing.

[sunilkumar]

Tata Advanced Systems (TAS), the wholly owned aircraft and defence systems subsidiary of Tata Sons Ltd, has tied up with DC Enterprises (DCE), a Bangalore-based firm run by a father and son team, to make mini air vehicles (MAVs) for defence, paramilitary and disaster management applications.

TAS is setting up a fabrication unit in Bangalore. The small aircraft, with wing spans of 6 to 18 inches, are to be built out of carbon fibre composites, and is estimated to cost `60-80 lakh each.

While TAS is investing in building the factory, DCE will provide the technology on payment of a royalty, said N. Chandrashekar, who set up DCE in 2005.

The investment from TAS is low at this stage, as capital expenditure requirements to make such small aircraft are not big. Industry experts estimate it to be in the region of `20 lakh.

A TAS executive in Bangalore did not deny the development, but expressed inability to comment without authorization. He did not officially respond to emailed questions sent on Friday. In the last five years, DCE has exported some 4,000 tiny motors, weighing just a few grams and costing between $60-90 (`2,712-4,068), mainly targeting the overseas aero modelling market, a niche market being catered to by just a handful of firms.

The venture provides TAS “a potential partner who can take up significant work share in upcoming large UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) projects like the mini UAV project of the Indian Army, thereby improving TAS’ own capability to respond effectively to the programme,” said Rahul Gangal, executive vice-president, defence advisory services, Religare Capital Markets Ltd.

“The tie-up also shows that large groups are amenable to partnering with small players with niche capabilities, but who may not want to be in all segments of the value chain,” Gangal said.

DCE is also expected to play a key role in the national programme for MAVs, supported by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the department of science and technology.

“One of the challenges in any MAV development is the small motors which provide the propulsion,” said P.S. Krishnan, director of DRDO’s aeronautical development establishment (ADE) in Bangalore “DC Enterprises has been identified as the number one agency to provide such small motors.” ADE is the coordinating agency for the programme.

[gentem]

like toy aeroplanes

Tata Advanced Systems (TAS), the wholly owned aircraft and defence systems subsidiary of Tata Sons Ltd, has tied up with DC Enterprises (DCE), a Bangalore-based firm run by a father and son team, to make mini air vehicles (MAVs) for defence, paramilitary and disaster management applications.

TAS is setting up a fabrication unit in Bangalore. The small aircraft, with wing spans of 6 to 18 inches, are to be built out of carbon fibre composites, and is estimated to cost `60-80 lakh each.

[engineer.akash]

Vying to make it into the Indian Air Force

Lockheed Martin, Boeing and other manufacturers make a beeline for the Aero Show

Hemanth CS

With India planning to make some big-ticket purchases to strengthen its air power, the upcoming Aero India, to be held at the Air Force Station, Yelahanka, will see many foreign firms exhibiting their latest products.
As reported earlier, the US aviation company, Lockheed Martin, will be bringing the F-35 cockpit demonstrator to Aero India 2011 for the first time. Also to make a presence during the five-day air show would be the US Air Force's WC-130 (Weather Bird).
A Lockheed official said that the US Air Force is working to bring the WC-130 (Weather Bird), which has a specialised configuration for weather data mapping.
The WC-130 a high-wing, medium-range aircraft is flown by the Air Force Reserve Command for weather reconnaissance missions.
The aircraft, a modified version of the C-130, can stay aloft nearly 15 hours and can covers 3,500 miles at a stretch.
"Lockheed Martin's two F-16s (Block 60) aircraft and the US Air Force's two F-16s will be displayed," said an official.
Boeing is also planning to bring a wide range of aircraft, which include the F/A-18 Super Hornet, one of the contenders for the multi-medium role combat aircraft deal.
With India expected to spend about US$112 billion on capital acquisition by the year 2016, the US is hoping to cash in.

s_hemanth@dnaindia.net

DNA

[engineer.akash]

There is of course the question of off-sets. For certain products the Indians are placing the figure as high as 30 per cent or even 50 per cent. How do you go about finding the right collaborators in India?

Off-sets are not an obstacle for us. Our will to invest in India is high and the off-set factor is not a big constraint. We want to invest in India because we feel it is one of the most promising markets in the world, whether for civil products or for military products. We have 250 people in India at the moment; we will have almost 700 people in 2012. To get access to the Indian market we have to invest, that's clear. In India we find the technological resources we are looking for. We are extremely happy with Bangalore where we have not just a design office but a research centre now being developed and we will have a design office for Airbus and Cassidian, our defence division. More globally, EADS has to be built on three pillars — one in Europe, certainly because our roots are in Europe, one in the United States because half of the world defence market and 40 per cent of the aeroplanes flying are in the U.S., but the third pillar has to be in emerging countries. Growth and dynamism will be with the emerging countries in future and India is certainly one of the most promising. It's a country where we can partner with local industry, where we could find technological resources, where we have one of our main partners for space. We are partners on helicopters, on Cassidian (defence projects) — for some products for the Eurofighter and certainly for Airbus. It means our four divisions can work in India and partner in India with Indian companies. The market is equal to the size of the country — huge.

For More read here

[sunilkumar]

A hub:The university will provide training not only for research and development but also to those coming out of the industrial training institutes in the State.


Bangalore: The proposal for a privately promoted aerospace university near Devanahalli, which was first mooted at the Global Investors Meet (GIM) in June, is likely to fructify after the Bangalore Aero Show in February, sources in the Government as well industry told The Hindu on Saturday.

V.P. Baligar, Principal Secretary, Commerce and Industries, said: “The State Government is only a facilitator for the private initiative to establish a dedicated university for aerospace near Devanahalli, near the Bengaluru International Airport.” The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is also involved in the venture.

The Vice-Chairman of the Karnataka State Council of the CII, S. Chandrasekhar, said that the dedicated university would train personnel working at all levels of the industry. “The university will play a critical role in enabling Bangalore to function as a hub or a base for the aerospace industry,” Mr. Chandrasekhar said. He said the university would provide training not only for research and development but also to those coming out of the industrial training institutes in the State. The Task Force on Aerospace, headed by Chief Secretary S.V. Ranganath, “is closely monitoring the progress of the project,” he added.

He said a significant announcement may be made after the aero show in February.

Mr. Baligar said the aerospace park near Devanahalli was “in an advanced stage of completion.” Asked about the progress of the projects that were proposed during the GIM, Mr. Baligar said: “The progress has been really good, although things had slowed down somewhat because of panchayat elections in the State.”

Progress so far

More than 180 projects, out of a total of 389 that were proposed by investors during the GIM, had “taken off,” Mr. Baligar said. Twelve projects have already commenced production. Twenty more are “at an advanced stage of completion, and are likely come on stream in the next few months,” Mr. Baligar said.

Mr. Chandrasekhar, who is also managing director of Bhoruka Power Corporation Ltd., said the clutch of gas-based power projects proposed at the GIM were “awaiting” the laying of the gas pipeline by GAIL Ltd. The work on the pipeline is likely to be completed by 2012. However, the price at which gas would be supplied for the new power projects still remains a key imponderable.

The LNG currently hovers at about $10 per million British Thermal Unit (mmbtu). At this price, power would cost about Rs. 5 to Rs. 6 per unit, which would be a viable proposition, Mr. Chandrasekhar said. However, the problem was that there were currently no long-term contracts for LNG imports, which could pose risks for power projects, he said. The task force was examining the possibility of instituting a “canalising agency” that could facilitate assured supplies of LNG at spot prices for projects in the State, he said.

source @ http://www.hindu.com/2011/01/02/stor...0250630100.htm

[sunilkumar]

AERO India 2011
https://www.aeroindia.in

09 to 13 Feb 2011 , Air Force station Yalahanka ,Bangalore

[rakshit gowda]

Originally Posted by phaedrus

good to see HAL and NAL put effort to make civial aircrafts as well.

NAL made saras crashed a couple of years back. People may be apprehensive, flying in an Indian made jet. But it is a great step forward by HAL and NAL and I wish them the best. I read somwhare that India will require 2,000 civil aircrafts for the coming years.

[sunilkumar]

Bangalore, Jan 3 (IANS) India's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) will soon invite expression of interest (EoI) from the aerospace industry to develop a 90-seater regional transport aircraft (RTA) for feeder service under public-private partnership, a senior official said Monday.

'An EoI will be floated soon for private participation in the design and development of an indigenous RTA for short-haul feeder service to cities and towns across the country,' state-run National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) director A.R. Upadhya told reporters here.

The civilian RTA project has been approved by the 15-member high powered committee for national civil aircraft development, set up by the CSIR in May 2010 under the chairmanship of G. Madhavan Nair, former chairman of the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

'The committee has decided to set up a joint venture with state-run aeronautical organisations and the private industry led by a principal partner. The State Bank of India Capital Markets Ltd (SBICAPS) and IDBI Bank Ltd will be asked to develop a business model for marketing the regional aircraft,' Upadhya said.

The design and development of the first prototype is estimated to cost about Rs.4,500 crore ($1 billion) in a five-year timeline.

As per aviation market projections, the country will require about 500-600 regional aircraft, while the global market is estimated to be about 10-fold (5,000-6,000 aircraft).

The Bangalore-based NAL, which is part of the CSIR and a nodal agency for the project, will also be exploring overseas partners and vendors at the upcoming Aero India 2011 event on the outskirts of this tech hub next month.

'We will be making a presentation at the air show to the aerospace industry on the RTA project and explore participation by overseas firms in the proposed joint venture,' Upadhya said.

The government has recently sanctioned about Rs.50 crore to the high powered committee for preparing a feasibility report in the next three-four months.

'The report will decide on the configuration, airframe, sub-systems, engine and market potential. It will also study the option of having a 70-seater aircraft,' Upadhya pointed out.

The feasibility study will also decide if the aircraft should be fitted with turboprop engine or turbo jet engine.

'The design centre for the regional civilian aircraft project will be set up in Bangalore under the supervision of NAL. Private partners will be involved right from the design stage. We will also explore a joint venture for developing the engine with a global aerospace major,' Upadhya added.