Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews Feb 20, 2017 Feb Air India is planning to add Dornier 228 twin turboprops to the fleet of its Alliance Air subsidiary to boost service to second- and third-tier cities under the government-backed  Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), which begins in March . Air India chairman and managing director Ashwani Lohani told  AIN  that the flagcarrier expects to lease 10 of the 19-seat aircraft from government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), which already produces military-configured versions under license from Switzerland Ruag Aviation. India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation is now working on a requested civil type certification for the aircraft. “The certification from DGCA could well be facilitated and speeded given HAL and Air India are both government owned,” R.K Bali, managing director of India’s Business Aviation Operators Association (BAOA) told  AIN . He said that HAL, which is in the process of creating...

      AIN DEFENSE PERSPECTIVE  »  OCTOBER 19, 2012 by    NEELAM MATHEWS According to Honeywell, the Indian version of the F125 will drop-fit into the country’s Jaguar strike aircraft engine bays. (Photo: Honeywell) October 19, 2012, 10:55 AM Honeywell has been asked to quote for the supply of 270  F125IN  turbofan engines to replace the twin Rolls-Royce Adour Mk 821s on India’s 125-strong fleet of Jaguar strike aircraft. The F125IN  is 600 pounds lighter than the Adour and is expected to enable 25-percent-shorter hot-and-high takeoffs. India’s Jaguars have become overweight and underpowered as a result of avionics and systems upgrades. Rolls-Royce previously pitched for an upgrade to the Jaguar’s existing engines, claiming that this would minimize aircraft integration issues, use existing infrastructure at Hindustan Aeronautics ( HAL ) and provide economies of scale with the HAL -built  ...

Neelam Mathews Sept 28, 2012 This morning, a Sita Air  operated  Dornier Fairchild twin engine turboprop,  with Garrett TPE331-10T/-5A engine, crashed on the banks of Manohara in the Bhakatpur district river killing 19 including 16 passengers. Local papers have reported the aircraft crashed within two minutes after the ATC gave clearance for take off from Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport. The reason for the crash is not known. It is being speculated , a bird hit could have been the cause. The aircraft was on its way to Lukla, a tourist destination in the lap of Mt.Everest. Aviation accidents are not a rarity in Nepal. In May, an Agni Air Dornier had also crashed.  Sita Air started operations in 2003 with four Dorniers.

Travel/Distribution Systems Aviation Daily Apr 30 , 2010 , p. 15 Neelam Mathews InterGlobe General Aviation, a subsidiary of InterGlobe Enterprises, has added Dornier Seaplane Company, including the Dornier Seastar CD2, to its growing business aviation portfolio, buoyed in part by the tourism industry, which is looking at seaplanes to transport tourists to islands. “We are examining it,” Nigel Harwood, CEO, InterGlobe General Aviation, told The DAILY. “The problem is Dornier is not ready for production till 2011. We will look at an interim solution till then if required before that.” Despite India having a vast coastline, the country does not have a single seaplane. Government-owned Pawan Hans Helicopters has been planning for two years to start seaplane operations to Andaman and Nicobar islands, which attract 1 million visitors a year, and for use in inter-island connections. It had plans to lease out at least four seaplanes. Harwood said the company was also examining busin...