HAL Hindustan 228-201 aircraft is now DGCA Type Certified

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) announced that the Type Certification of the first Indigenous Light Transport civil passenger aircraft "Hindustan 228-201" was handed over by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to Transport Aircraft R & D Center, HAL Kanpur at DGCA HQ New Delhi.

Hindustan 228-201 aircraft is the first Type Certified fixed-wing aircraft in India complying with the latest FAR 23 certification requirement which is a major milestone towards the vision of building a new, AtmanNirbhar Bharat.

Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) shares jumped 4.63% to INR 1763 after the company received 'Type Certification of first Indigenous Light Transport civil passenger aircraft Hindustan 228-001' from the DGCA.

HAL Hindustan 228-201 aircraft is now DGCA Type Certified

HAL is engaged in carrying out the design, development, manufacture, repair and overhaul of aircraft, helicopters, engines and related systems like avionics, instruments and accessories primarily serving the Indian defence programme.

As of 31 December 2021, the Government of India held a 75.15% stake in the company. The company reported a 90.8% surge in consolidated net profit to INR 3,105.17 crore on a 6.4% rise in net sales to INR 11,561.13 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21.

ALSO READ - Alliance Air receives the first made-in-India civilian aircraft – Dornier 228

Earlier in April, Alliance Air said it took delivery of the first made-in-India Dornier 228 plane on April 7 to facilitate connectivity within the northeastern states.

Alliance Air said it took delivery of the first made-in-India Dornier 228 plane

Centre-run Alliance Air had in February signed an agreement with government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd to lease two 17-seater Dornier 228 aircraft.

Dornier 228 is a twin-turboprop short take-off and landing utility aircraft which is manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Coast Guard, Indian Air Force and Indian Navy.

HAL describes Dornier 228 as “a highly versatile multi-purpose light transport aircraft.” It also notes that the aircraft has been developed to meet requirements like utility and commuter transport, third level services and air-taxi operations, coast guard duties and maritime surveillance.

Dornier 228 is a twin-turboprop short take-off and landing utility aircraft which is manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Coast Guard, Indian Air Force and Indian Navy.

The Hindustan-228 is a 17-seat multirole utility aircraft built for various applications such as VIP transport, passenger transport, air ambulance, flight inspection roles, cloud seeding, and recreational activities like para jumping, aerial surveillance, photography and cargo applications.

The aircraft can also be utilised for pollution prevention, troop transport, aerial survey, search and rescue, commuter transport, remote sensing applications, causality evacuation and cargo and logistics support.

(With Inputs from Business Standard)

Air India is likely to be handed over to the Tata group by the end of this week, senior government officials said on Monday, January 24.

After a competitive bidding process, the government had on October 8, 2021, sold Air India to Talace Private Limited -- a subsidiary of the Tata group's holding company for INR 18,000 crore. As a part of the deal, the Tata group will also be handed over Air India Express and a 50% stake in ground handling arm Air India SATS.

Following that, on October 11, a Letter of Intent (LoI) was issued to the Tata group confirming the government's willingness to sell its 100% stake in the airline. On October 25, the Centre signed the share purchase agreement (SPA) for this deal.

ALSO READ - Over INR 278 crore pending payments from government departments and sections to Air India

Officials told PTI on Monday, January 24 that the remaining formalities regarding this deal are expected to be completed in the next few days and the airline will be handed over to the Tata group by the end of this week.

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Tatas had on October 8 beat the INR 15,100 crore offer by a consortium led by SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh and the reserve price of INR 12,906 crore set by the government for the sale of its 100% stake in the loss-making carrier.

"The disinvestment of Air India is now decided to be on January 27, 2022. The closing balance sheet as of January 20 has to be provided today Jan 24 so that it can be reviewed by Tatas and any changes can be effected on Wednesday, January 26.We have done an excellent job till now in providing all support for the disinvestment exercise. The next three days will be hectic for our department and I request all of you to give your best in these last three-four days before we get divested."Vinod Hejmadi, Director Finance, Air India

Seeking the cooperation of the employees, Hejmadi said, "We may have to work late in the night to complete the task given to us. I seek the cooperation of one and all."

While this will be the first privatisation since 2003-04, Air India will be the third airline brand in the Tatas' stable as it holds a majority interest in AirAsia India and Vistara, a joint venture with Singapore Airlines Ltd.

The Group, for the time being, plans to continue with Vistara as a separate entity, as SIA is not on board for the AI deal.

Air India will be the third airline brand in the Tatas' stable as it holds a majority interest in AirAsia India and Vistara. (Image Courtesy - DKODING)

Vistara is a 51:49 joint venture between the Tata Group and SIA. SIA, however, had agreed to be part of the plan to acquire Air India but did not want to continue after COVID impacted their business and funds dried up.

As part of the revival plan, the Tata Group is also blueprinting a 100-day plan for Air India to improve the operational and service standards of the airline that includes its on-time performance, as well as issues related to passenger complaints and call centres.

Despite a complete standstill in trade and travel between India and Pakistan, a new proposal by the Pakistan Hindu Council to allow Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh pilgrims to travel by air has been forwarded by the government in Islamabad.

In a report published by The Hindu, sources said that the proposal was sent to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) from the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi on behalf of the Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC) chief patron Ramesh Vankwani, asking that two chartered flights of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) carrying pilgrims be allowed to fly from Lahore and Karachi to destinations in India on January 23, 2022.

Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan

However, the report also struck a cautious note, saying that the proposal, which was only received on January 24, had still to receive many clearances in New Delhi. The MEA did not respond to inquiries about whether permissions were likely within the next few days, or at all.

"Pakistani pilgrims will be taken on the special PIA flight to visit religious places in India while Indian pilgrims will arrive in Pakistan on Air India flights. the promotion of religious tourism in the region, an Air India flight will be operated from New Delhi to Peshawar on February 20 to bring Indian pilgrims to Samadhi of Shri Param Hans Ji Maharaj, Teri temple, in Karak area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and a series of air flights between the two countries has been started on a monthly basis. He further expressed the hope that the promotion of religious tourism could bring the people of the two countries closer."Dr. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, Patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council and Member of National Assembly

Later, a Hindu lawmaker from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party also stated that he will travel to India later this week with a delegation of pilgrims on January 24.

The proposed visit of Pakistani pilgrims to India is in connection with the religious tourism initiative. Hindu pilgrims from India and Gulf countries had arrived in Peshawar on January 1 via Emirates Airlines flight from Dubai to visit Shri Param Hansji Maharaj's Samadhi.

The Indian pilgrims were not allowed to travel on the PIA flight at the last moment by the Indian authorities following which they were brought to Pakistan via the Wagah border.

India-Pakistan Border

In all about 170 pilgrims, mostly Muslim, and about 20 Hindu pilgrims would be facilitated by the PHC, which signed an MoU with PIA in December 2021 to organize several “faith tourism initiatives”.

Amongst the early initiatives, the PHC said it had facilitated two groups of Hindu pilgrims from the UK, UAE, Spain, and other countries in the past few weeks, who were flown to Peshawar via PIA charters to visit the “ShriParamhansMaharajMandir” in the remote Khyber Pakhtunkhwa district of Teri. The Indian pilgrims crossed over Wagah by foot and then flew to Peshawar from Lahore.

Wagah Border

Trade between India and Pakistan has been suspended since August 2019, after the Pakistani government took several retaliatory actions to protest New Delhi’s amendment of Article 370 and other measures in Jammu and Kashmir.

Even an Indian request to send 500,000 MT of wheat as humanitarian aid to Afghanistan via the Wagah border has been awaiting Pakistani clearances for several months, although reports suggest this could come through within the next week.

The religious pilgrimage exchanges, which now also include the opening of the Kartarpur corridor for Sikh pilgrims are among the few India-Pakistan confidence-building measures (CBMs) that continue to exist, with hundreds of visas issued by both sides each year for groups of Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim pilgrims.

Pakistan International Airlines

The other CBMs include an agreement to exchange lists of prisoners held by both sides of each other’s citizens, and lists of nuclear installations that are handed over on New Year’s day every year, that are still maintained.

However, the two countries have no direct travel or trade relations, and their missions in Delhi and Islamabad, which have been significantly downsized, do not have High Commissioners at present i.e. January 2022.

(With Inputs from The Hindu)

Boeing Co is investing a further USD 450 million in Wisk Aero to support the development of future pilotless flying taxis, the U.S. aerospace giant said on Monday, January 24.

California-based Wisk, owned by Boeing and Kitty Hawk - the air vehicle firm launched by Google co-founder Larry Page - is one of the dozens of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) makers but differs in focusing its efforts on the autonomous flight.

"Our view is that is the big strategic advantage of Wisk, going straight to a self-flying aircraft, building those principles in at every level of the design and development," Boeing's Chief Strategy Officer Marc Allen told Reuters.

Boeing increases its investment in Wisk aero by USD 450 million

The decision to leapfrog a generation of piloted eVTOL aircraft being developed by independent startups and some aerospace groups entails a later entry to service than the target date of 2024 envisaged by most competitors.

After closing its venture capital arm last year, Boeing, which reports quarterly results on Wednesday, is focusing its air-taxi efforts on Wisk. The investment unit had pursued several prototypes and software to service an air-taxi market that analysts have predicted could involve thousands of small air vehicles operating by the mid-2030s.

Rival plane makers Airbus SE and Embraer SA are developing their electric air taxis, alongside other startups that have attracted interest and investment from airlines, private jet operators and aircraft leasing companies. The U.S. Air Force is also involved in developing flying taxis for military use.

Wisk said the USD 450 million investment from Boeing would make it "one of the most well-funded" companies

Boeing declined to give a date for what it terms the sixth-generation Wisk passenger vehicle, but industry sources said the idea was to present it for certification in around 2028. Boeing said it would be the first autonomous passenger-carrying vehicle to be certified in the United States.

In a statement, Wisk said the USD 450 million investment from Boeing would make it "one of the most well-funded" companies of its type, but gave no further details. The fundraising follows a spate of billion-dollar SPAC mergers by competitors in a trend that has cooled recently.

Analysts say the timetable for certification remains the key source of uncertainty surrounding the industry, whose debuts include California-based Joby and Archer and European rivals Lilium and Vertical Aerospace.

Boeing owns an undisclosed majority stake in Wisk.

It is not the only aerospace company teaming up with Silicon Valley to share development costs and foster an agile approach to innovation as simultaneous leaps in electric, materials and processing technology bring aviation within reach of startups.

"The kinds of constant demand shifts that will accompany these emerging industries really do require broad collaboration across those in the industry who bring different capabilities together," Allen said in an interview.

Beyond that, the debt-laden U.S. aerospace giant is seen as selectively more willing to co-develop know-how on broad capabilities like autonomy and advanced production processes, rather than controlling all high-end technology in-house.

Asked if there could be other partnerships within Boeing's core aerospace activities, Allen said: "Wisk is just one great example. I am sure it will not be the only example." Boeing's investment in the company could yield improvements that could be applied across Boeing's portfolio, he added.

Wisk began in 2010 as Zee Aero and later merged with Kitty Hawk Corporation. Upon recognising the commercial potential of Wisk’s fifth-generation aircraft, the aircraft and team were spun out to form Wisk, with an investment from Boeing. Over the past decade, Wisk has achieved several aviation and industry firsts, most notably, the first flight of an all-electric, autonomous, eVTOL aircraft designed for passenger use, in the U.S.

Two passengers were caught smoking on an Air India flight from Male to Mumbai on January 24, 2022. Smoking is banned on flights, under the Indian Aircraft Rules. This happened onboard flight AI-268 from Male heading towards Mumbai, about 45 minutes before landing, a passenger went into the lavatory and found smoke in the lavatory. The cabin crew identified and accosted passengers who had used the lavatory.

The two passengers did not protest when asked to hand over their cigarettes and passports. The smell of smoke spread into the passenger cabin as well. Air India security and the departments concerned are looking into this and will follow due to course of action. The official did not comment on whether the airline had filed a police case against the passenger. Fire is the most hazardous situation a flight crew can be faced with.

“Fire and smoke spread rapidly inside the pressurized cabin of an aircraft. Even a minor fire left undetected for a few minutes can endanger the safety of aircraft and Messengers especially if it breaks out when the aircraft is at cruising altitudes, it would take at least 20 to 30 minutes to descend, and carry out an emergency landing. And by then press enter, the screw could die of carbon monoxide poisoning."Senior Airline Commander

Passengers who commit any act, likely to imperil the safety of an aircraft or its passengers or crew could be punished with imprisonment, for up, to two years or with a fine up to rupees 10 lakh, for both smoking onboard. Also falls into the purview of unruly or disruptive passenger behaviour and could invite a lifetime ban. But airlines in India have been lacking in enforcing the law.

In September 2017 an Air India passenger onboard a flight from Rachi to Delhi returned unruly after, he was asked to exit the aircraft lavatory by the crew who were alerted to smoke and smell of cigarettes. The passenger got into an argument with the crew and threatened to lighten up another cigarette. The pilot radioed the Delhi Air Traffic Control about the incident and on Landing, he was escorted out of the aircraft by CISF Security Personnel. However, the airline was reluctant to file a police complaint. A written apology was taken from the passenger and he was let off.

In 2017, DGCA issued Norms, that Define unruly passenger Behavior, among them was smoking onboard, an aircraft upon landing on aircraft pilot in command shell Lodge FIR, which Security Agency at Aerodrome and Handover unruly passenger to Security Agency. Whenever an airline receives, a complaint of such cases, then the incident shall be referred by the airlines to an internal Community which within ten days of this matter will refer and question everything about it and later report whether the person is accused or not and list them in "National no-fly list".

Rolls-Royce has announced that its all-electric ‘Spirit of Innovation’ aircraft is officially the worlds fastest all-electric aircraft, having set two new world records which have now been independently confirmed.

On 16 November 2021, the aircraft reached a top speed of 555.9 km/h (345.4 mph) over 3 kilometres, smashing the existing record by 213.04 km/h (132mph). In further runs at the UK Ministry of Defence’s Boscombe Down experimental aircraft testing site, the aircraft achieved 532.1km/h (330 mph) over 15 kilometres - 292.8km/h (182 mph) faster than the previous record.

https://twitter.com/RollsRoyce/status/1484113515602497539

Both records have been officially verified by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the World Air Sports Federation that controls and certifies world aeronautical and astronautical records. During its record-breaking runs, the aircraft, which is part of the UK Government-backed ACCEL or ‘Accelerating the Electrification of Flight’ project, also clocked up a maximum top speed of 623km/h (387.4mph) making it the world’s fastest all-electric vehicle.

“Achieving the all-electric world-speed record is a fantastic achievement for the ACCEL team and Rolls-Royce. I would like to thank our partners and especially aviation start-up Electroflight, for their collaboration in achieving this pioneering breakthrough. The advanced battery and propulsion technology developed for this programme has exciting applications for the Advanced Air Mobility market. This is another milestone that will help make ‘jet zero’ a reality and supports our ambitions to deliver the technology breakthroughs society needs to decarbonise transport across air, land and sea."Warren East, CEO, Rolls-Royce

Half of the ACCEL project’s funding is provided by the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), in partnership with the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and Innovate UK.

“Rolls-Royce’s revolutionary Spirit of Innovation aircraft is yet more proof of the UK’s enviable credentials when it comes to innovation. This record will show the potential of electric flight and help to unlock the technologies that could make it part of everyday life. The government is proud to back projects like this to leverage the private investment necessary to unlock cleaner, greener aircraft which will allow people to fly as they do now, but in a way that cuts emissions."Kwasi Kwarteng, Business Secretary, United Kingdom

The aircraft was propelled on its record-breaking runs by 400kW (500+hp) electric powertrain and the most power-dense propulsion battery pack ever assembled in aerospace. We worked in partnership with aviation energy storage start-up Electroflight and automotive powertrain supplier YASA.

As well as a stunning technical achievement, the project and world record run provided important data for our future electric power and propulsion systems for all-electric urban air mobility (UAM) and hybrid-electric commuter aircraft. The characteristics that ‘air-taxis’ require from batteries, for instance, are very similar to what was developed for the ‘Spirit of Innovation’.

“The ACCEL project demonstrates that strategic investment in UK technology and innovation can achieve extraordinary world-beating results, and sets us firmly on the path to decarbonising passenger flight in the future. This achievement of Rolls-Royce, Electroflight and YASA will resonate for many years to come and inspire the next generation of aerospace engineers. They deserve their place in the record books and the ATI is proud to have played our part in that. Congratulations to the whole team."Gary Elliott, CEO, Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI)

Rolls-Royce has an incredible history of flying speed record attempts and breaking records, dating back to the Schneider Trophies of the early 1930s. The speed achieved by the test pilot and Rolls-Royce Director of Flight Operations Phill O’Dell in the ‘Spirit of Innovation’ was more than 213.04 km/h (132 mph) faster than the previous record set by the Siemens eAircraft powered Extra 330 LE Aerobatic aircraft in 2017.

Never before in the history of the World Air Sports Federation (FAI), record attempts have there been such a significant increase in speed over such a short timeframe, highlighting the rapid pace at which the electrification of aerospace is advancing. Electroflight Pilot Steve Jones flew the ‘Spirit of Innovation’ aircraft for the 15km record run.

The ACCEL programme has also been supported by two further great British pioneers, Jaguar Land Rover, who have loaned all-electric zero-emission Jaguar I-PACE cars as towing and support vehicles; and Bremont, the luxury watchmaker, who were the official timing partner for the record attempt.

“Breaking the world record for all-electric flight is a momentous occasion. This is the highlight of my career and is an incredible achievement for the whole team. The opportunity to be at the forefront of another pioneering chapter of Rolls-Royce’s story, as we look to deliver the future of aviation, is what dreams are made of.All three organisations involved in the ‘Spirit of Innovation’ - Rolls-Royce, Electroflight and YASA - share a passion for innovation and through the development process we have learned from the motorsport background of both our partners and from Electroflight’s pace as a start-up. We have also shared our aerospace expertise, including the rigorous safety and testing methods needed by the civil aviation industry. This combination has helped turn a concept into a world record-breaker.Phill O’Dell, Director of Flight Operations, Rolls-Royce

The aircraft took off from the MoD’s Boscombe Down site, which is managed by QinetiQ and flew profiles according to the FAI guidelines for record attempts in the Powered Aeroplane C-1C Electric class.

Our involvement in the ACCEL project is just one of how we are looking to make aviation more sustainable. In June last year, we announced our pathway to net-zero carbon emissions - a year on from joining the UN Race to Zero campaign.

The third record of our all-electric aircraft for the fastest time to climb to 3000 metres in a time of 202 seconds, breaking the current record by 60 seconds, is still going through the verification process.