Aerospace Diary

Programs Aerospace Daily & Defense Report Sep 24 , 2010 , p. 11 Neelam Mathews Minnesota-based BRS Aerospace, manufacturer of whole-airplane parachutes, has been contracted to integrate and help certify its parachute recovery systems for India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) HPT-32 basic training aircraft used by the Indian Air Force. “This represents a strong market opportunity for BRS to install lifesaving parachutes on training aircraft, civilian or military,” said Gary Moore, BRS Aerospace vice president for sales and marketing. The urgent requirement comes with the temporary grounding of a fleet of more than 100 Hindustan Piston Trainer (HPT)-32s following a spurt of crashes. Once BRS has completed the installation design, the company will work with HAL and the Indian Air Force to test and certify the customized whole-airframe parachute system. Aviation Week reported in April that industry bidders had submitted offers to build 75 basic trainer aircraft for the ...

Aerospace Daily & Defense Report April 20, 2010 PROGRAMS NEW DELHI — Industry hopefuls last week submitted bids to build 75 basic trainer aircraft for the Indian air force, at a cost of roughly $6 million each. Contenders include the Embraer 312 Tocano, PZL 130 Orlik, Grob 120, Hawker Beechcraft, Pilatus PC-7A, Korea’s KT-1 and EADS Socata TB30 — with the last three having the same basic platform and engine. Once a decision is made, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) will float a bid for the design of 104 aircraft. The tender comes with a 30% offsets clause, which one original equipment manufacturer (OEM) says will not be difficult to fulfill in India. However,the ejection seat is a distinct requirement,and those that do not have built-in may be disqualified, a senior official told Aviation Week. “An ejection seat is not easy to fit as it requires structural strengthening,” the official adds. The urgent requirement comes with the grounding of a fleet of more than 100 Hindust...