NAL Saras, Regional Transport Aircraft (RTA) & Hansa Project

FOXBAT ALOK

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I congratulate CSIR-National Aerospace Lab scientists on the maiden flight of 14 seater SARAS PT1N. Designed & developed by CSIR-NAL, it flew for about 30 minutes this morning at a maximum height of 8500 ft at a speed of 145 knots. All the system parameters are found normal.
19 seater
Jai Hinddddddddddddddddddddd
 

Adioz

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Great sight. Blue skies. The video of #Saras PT1N shot from the chase. Congrats Team NAL.

She is a beauty even with landing gear not retracted. And this is a 14-seater. Imagine how cool a longer version (19-seater with retracted landing gear will look):drool:
 

Adioz

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Hindustani78

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Ministry of Science & Technology
SARAS PT1N makes its maiden flight

Dr. Harsh Vardhan congratulates scientists and other agencies for the success

Posted On: 24 JAN 2018 6:53PM by PIB Delhi



SARAS PT1N (14 seater) designed and developed by CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL), a frontline aerospace research laboratory, has successfully made its maiden flight today. Union Minister for Science & Technology, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, has congratulated the scientists of CSIR-NAL and other agencies involved in the successful maiden flight.

The flight was commanded by Wg Cdr U P Singh, Gp Capt R V Panicker and Gp Capt K P Bhat from IAF-Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE). The aircraft took off at about 11 a.m from HAL airport and flew for about 40 minutes at the maximum height of 8500 ft at the speed of 145 knots.

The chase aircraft (KIRAN) was piloted by Gp Capt Badrish and telemetry was commanded by Gp Capt Naraynen, Wg Cdr Pandey and Wg Cdr R Sridhar (Retd). All the system parameters have been found to be normal. It was a text book flight.

The primary objective is to evaluate the system performance in about 20 flights and the data collected from this shall be used to freeze the design of production version aircraft. The production version aircraft will be of 19 seat capacity and will undergo civil / military certification.

The flight was monitored by Director, CSIR-NAL, Shri Jitendra J Jadhav, Director, IAF-PMT & Chairman, FRRB, Air Marshal Upkarjit Singh, Director-HAL, Shri Venkatesh, Commandant, ASTE, Air Vice Marshal Sandeep Singh, Chief Executive, CEMILAC Shri P Jayapal, and ADG-AQA Shri V L Raja.





CSIR-NAL sources said that this was the culmination of the efforts of team CSIR-NAL, IAF-ASTE, CEMILAC, HAL and DGAQA.

*********


Takes wings: Saras PT1N makes its maiden flight at HAL Airport in Bengaluru . | Photo Credit: The Hindu

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...rises-again/article22514336.ece?homepage=true

First flight trial of the new version of the indigenous civilian airplane successful

At 11 a.m. on Wednesday, a nondescript civilian plane, painted in grey, took off from the HAL Airport.

For residents nearby used to sights and sounds of fighter jets taking off from the defence airstrip, the event went by without a second glance. But for many in the National Aeronautical Laboratory, the flight held a special significance: the rise of their flagship programme.

Nearly a decade after a tragic crash of the 14-seater Saras, which effectively stalled the indigenous civilian aircraft programme, Wednesday saw the first flight trial of the new version of the airplane, PT1N (Prototype 1 New).

Touches 8,500 feet
Those in the know-how said the first of the over six “design confidence building” trials went off successfully. For 40 minutes, the aircraft, accompanied by a defence escort, flew to speeds of 140 knots and reached a height of 8,500 feet, said officials.

“In the coming weeks, subsequent design and altitude alterations can see the flight reach closer to its top speed of 184 knots and 30,000 feet in height,” said an official.

Conceptualised in 1990s
While four pilots from ASTE (Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment) have been trained for the trials, two of them (Wing Commander U.P. Singh and Group Captain B. Panicker) flew the aircraft on Wednesday.

The aircraft programme, named after the Indian crane Saras, was first conceptualised in the 1990s as a way to establish a short-haul civil aviation market.

After decades on working out the design, NAL carried out its first flight on May 29, 2004.

On March 6, 2009, Prototype 2 crashed at Bidadi on the outskirts of the city killing two wing commanders and one flight test engineer. A subsequent inquiry found that incorrect drill procedures were given to pilots during a test where engines were to be switched off and then relit.

The accident, however, had a lasting impact on the project, and by mid-2013, monetary sanctions for the project dried up. It was only in 2015-end that the project restarted, and by Aero-India 2017 in Bengaluru, NAL announced that CSIR had given the go-ahead and flight tests would begin in 2018.

“It is a big morale booster for NAL to see a long-pending project gather steam,” said an official, when asked about what the short-flight means to the defence public sector unit.
 
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kstriya

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:confused1:Does anyone know the weight of NETRA AEW&C with the radar and accessories fitted please do not give the total take off weight of Embarrer aircraft...
 

Pandeyji

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What about using Saras for maritime petrol and ASW ?
No. Saras is a transport plane with capacity of 14 people. It could be ( & would be) used to carry military personnel but maritime patrol & ASW roles are fulfilled best by either ship-based helicopters or more powerful planes like P8i.

Though knowing how to make Saras would help us to develop a new plane with such characteristics.
 

G10

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America and europe have abandoned pusher type configurations for passenger planes. They being prone to crash.I wonder why we are pursuing against odds. I dont mean to be critical of the project here just a question,
 

Armand2REP

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America and europe have abandoned pusher type configurations for passenger planes. They being prone to crash.I wonder why we are pursuing against odds. I dont mean to be critical of the project here just a question,
Pushers have better wing-loading and engine efficiency than a puller, but they are inherently more unstable as the centre of gravity shifts to the rear. This can be overcome by digital authority controls, something lacking in earlier designs that were prone to accidents.
 

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